RWBY: Vengeance
by Cardinal67
Summary: It's been several weeks since Ruby and her friends faced Roman Torchwick and with the Vytal Festival only a few days away, things appear to be back to normal. Unfortunately, Roman wants revenge for Team RWBY's continued irritations. In the end some of their closest friends will pay the price. The question is, How far will they go to avenge them? [Bumblebee & Arkos Shipping]
1. The Coming Days

**Author's Note: This is my very first story I have written for the site, but please read until the end. This being the first chapter contains very little action but is very important in setting up the events of Chapter 2 which contains far more action and suspense. In any case, please enjoy and leave a rating.**

RWBY: Vengeance

Chapter 1: The Coming Days

**Roman**

Roman Torchwick was by no means a coward. However no man in their right mind would be fearless when confronted by an angry Cinder Fall. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND HER!" she screamed hurling another fireball in Roman's direction. Cinder Fall was not a woman who lost her temper easily, but this was no ordinary case. "You're telling me that some stupid little girl appears, destroys one of our ships, and just disappears like that!"

Roman waited for her to calm herself and replied, "That is exactly what I'm telling you, the kid is like a ghost." He paused for a moment and said "We could use that girl in red who…" This time the fireball hit him square in the chest, knocking him to the floor. "I am NOT compromising our operation just so you can have your vengeance on some girl who's annoyed you." Torchwick rose slowly and went silent for a moment. "Look..." He began, "This mystery girl came to help out the red girl and the Faunus. SHE TOOK DOWN A BLOODY BULLHEAD JUST BECAUSE I KNOCKED OVER HER DUMB FRIEND AND SHE DISAPPEARS FROM THE WORLD!" He screamed. Roman calmed himself, "What I'm saying is this, she's either gone for awhile and we don't need to worry, or she's hiding and we have a way to draw her out. In either case that dumb red kid will keep popping up and disrupting our operations."

Cinder considered this for a moment, "What are you saying Roman?" Roman replied with an evil grin, knowing he had won her over, "You know exactly what I'm saying, this little pest needs to be taken care of…. Immediately." Cinder Fall looked up now smiling too, "Her name is Ruby Rose. Don't act so surprised Roman, I'd already had the idea. I was just lacking proper… Motivation." Roman began to walk away before a well aimed fireball stopped just ahead of him. "Roman" she said coldly, "Don't forget about her little Faunus friend." "How could I?" he replied, rubbing the scar along his neck as he walked towards the exit.

**Team RWBY**

Ruby awoke with a stir. She was confused, she had always had perfect night's sleep, what was wrong with tonight's? Suddenly she remembered… "Oh no…" she muttered quietly as Yang entered the room. "What's wrong sis?" She asked lightly before remembering the only thing that would cause Ruby this much strife. "Oh, I remember" she said with a devious smile across her face, "You still have to find a date!"

_**2 Weeks Ago**_

All the students were gathered in the main hall, there were whispers throughout the crowd about what this could be about. Most people assumed that the meeting would be related to the upcoming Vytal Festival in the coming weeks. There was a rumor going around the school that those wishing to participate would need to complete some sort of challenge. Most students believed this and had begun to prepare themselves for anything.

Suddenly Professor Ozpin came forth on the stage. "Dear students, please remain quiet for the moment." He began "As many of you have suspected, the purpose for this announcement was in regards to the Vytal Festival in the coming weeks. However I must mention something now, the challenge many of you suspect regarding this event is not as dangerous as many of you suspect." He smiled and backed away for Miss Goodwitch to approach. "There will be a formal dance for all those wishing to compete in the tournament." She looked around as the student's eyes lit up. "The dance will be couples only and will take place within the next 2 weeks. Attendance is mandatory for those wishing to compete. That is all."

She walked away as the crowd began to speak. Many students were still stunned by this announcement and, by the time she had left, had barely moved. Ruby while still shocked began to look around for anyone she knew to go with while Blake disappeared presumably to Sun. Yang began to look around at all the soon to be couples, she eventually saw Jaune look towards Pyrrha and laughed. Yang began to walk around and saw Professor Ozpin quietly chuckling to himself. She had never seen Ozpin laugh before this, and it made her laugh that making the students do this would be the thing to set him off. Yang continued to walk until she saw Weiss walking around desperately looking for people to go with. "Well," she chuckled to herself, "there's always Ruby."

_**Present Day**_

Ruby began to whimper, "WHY DO WE NEED TO DO THIS?!" She begged, "It's not like this is gonna affect the tournament." Yang began to laugh at Ruby's apparent misery as Blake entered the room. "Heyo Blake, how's your morning been?" said Yang, "I'm willing to bet it's been better than Ruby's" She said pointing at a girl trying to smother herself. "Very nice actually," Blake said, "Sun says hello to everyone."

Suddenly Weiss entered, muttering something incomprehensible as she passed everyone. "Almost everyone." Blake amended as Weiss entered the shower. Ruby, suddenly burst upwards from her pillow with a look of curiosity in her eye. "I wonder…" She thought aloud, "Hey Blake, would you like to go to ball with me?"

Yang and Blake's eye widened as they turned to each other. Blake blushed and Yang laughed as Blake murmured out, "I'm... I'm going with Sun…" Ruby's now brilliant smile turned to a look of desperation as she turned to Yang. "Yang… would you…" Yang stopped her right then. "Ruby, are you serious?" Ruby looked horrified, "No…"

Weiss soon returned from the bathroom and collapsed onto her bed. "Well, I'm out of the tournament." She said glumly "I couldn't find anyone to go with in this entire school and time's almost up." Ruby got up and agreed. "Me neither, I just don't understand what any of this has got to do with being a huntress." Blake quietly muttered something to Yang who chuckled. "What?" Ruby asked "What did you just say?" "Nothing." Yang said, "Nothing at all." Ruby almost gave up until she saw Yang chuckling. "Alright what did she say to you Blake?" Ruby and Weiss both demanded. "It's nothing," she began, "It's just that…" she said barely holding in a smile. "Maybe you two should go together?"

The room was silent for a moment. Ruby and Weiss looked at each other for a moment and smiled. "Ruby," Weiss began in a very silly tone, "Would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the ball?" Ruby smiled and replied in an equally patronizing tone, "Yes my dearest madame I would be _honored_." The room exploded in laughter at what the other schools would think, before Weiss wondered aloud, "I wonder what Jaune is going to do?" The room considered this for a moment except for Yang who already knew his plans. Yang excused herself and began to chuckle in the hallway at how oblivious her team was regarding Jaune. Suddenly Nora appeared from out of nowhere. "Hi Yang." she said, "Whatcha laughing at?" Yang calmed herself, "Oh nothing, my team is just oblivious to something." Nora smiled, "Oh yeah, Jaune and Pyrrha?" For a moment Yang was surprised. "How did you know about that?" she asked. "You're not the only one who was looking around during Ozpin's announcement," she began, "You missed one thing though." "And what was that?" Yang asked suspiciously. "Did you happen to see who Pyrrha was looking at as soon as she heard it?" And before Yang could ask anything else, Nora raced away giggling.

**Jaune**

Jaune was very nervous, more nervous now in fact than when Cardin had been blackmailing him. It had been a fair bit of time since that scare, but still Jaune was terrified that Cardin would for some reason tell Ozpin everything. Even as Jaune knew this would never happen, things had changed since that encounter, and those changes scared him almost as much as the idea of being sent home away from his team and Pyrrha.

For now Jaune pushed the doubt from his mind and focused on the task at hand. Pyrrha hadn't given up on her promise to help Jaune train and for this he was eternally grateful. In the 4 short weeks since they began to train, Jaune had shown remarkable improvement in both his combat prowess and confidence.

Tonight they had begun training on defensive stances. They had an audience tonight actually of Nora and Ren. Ren was busy cleaning StormFlower while Nora was entranced by our show. By the end of our session, Nora was on the verge of asking for a second round. Before she could, Ren sensing what she was thinking mentioned making pancakes which broke her focus. The two of them left, leaving Pyrrha and Jaune alone to clean up the mess they had made. Jaune's thoughts raced as he thought of how to ask Pyrrha what had been on his mind all week.

"Pyrrha…" He began. "Yes Jaune?" she replied. "Would you…" He stopped. "C'mon Jaune you can do this, just say the words." He thought, "Just 8 words and it'll be over." "Would I what?" Pyrrha replied in a confused tone. "C'mon Jaune just ask her, Would you go to the ball with me?" he screamed in his head. Jaune sighed, "Would you give me a hand with this?" he said pointing towards a large dummy they had been using. "Oh," she replied in a sad tone Jaune had not heard before, "Of course, one moment." They lifted together and began to carry it back down to the training armory. Jaune couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with her the entire time.

By the time they got back to their dorm room, Ren had about finished making the pancakes which Nora had, according to Ren, eaten all the syrup for once again. As Ren began to serve them, Team JNPR heard a knock at their door. Jaune opened the door which revealed another student Jaune hadn't seen before. Before Jaune could speak, the student asked in a very soft tone, "Is Pyrrha Nikos here, Professor Ozpin asked me to send you to him." Pyrrha had a look of confusion upon her face but replied, "Yes, that is me, I will be there soon." With this, the student left and Pyrrha began to rise. "What's that about?" Nora asked, "I have no idea, I'll tell you when I get back." With this she left, leaving Nora, Ren, and Jaune to wonder. "What do you suppose that was about?" Ren asked Jaune. "I have no idea." Several minutes passed before Ren spoke again. "This is odd, Ozpin's meetings never take this long." he began, "I'll be back in soon." He said moving towards the door, "Nora help yourself to my pancakes." And with that he left.

Jaune sighed as soon as the door closed. "What's wrong?" Nora asked sweetly. "Nothing, it's just…" Jaune began, "I think I love Pyrrha and..." Jaune felt angry saying it, "I think she loves Ren." At this Nora stopped her destruction of pancakes and looked at Jaune. Suddenly Nora laughed the loudest, longest laugh he had ever heard. By the time she had calmed down, Jaune looked at her with the greatest look of confusion. "Why was that so funny?" he demanded. "Jaune, you must be blind." she said, fighting back the urge to laugh. Jaune was becoming annoyed, "Nora." He said firmly, "Why is that so funny." "Because," she began, "She's in love with," She poked his nose. "You." She then began to devour Ren's pancakes as Jaune stared at her as if she had slapped him across the face.

**Pyrrha**

He was so close, she could feel it. He was so close to asking her to go with him! Why couldn't he just do it! Maybe she was wrong? Maybe he wasn't going to ask her? Maybe she was just a friend to him? Maybe… She didn't know? These thoughts plagued Pyrrha during her walk to Ozpin's office. She didn't know what this meeting was about, but at the moment her thoughts were of Jaune only and she didn't care what this meeting might be about. It was odd she thought, her feelings about Jaune had since the first day been on a sort of roller coaster. She had gone from liking him to almost despising him to… _**this**_. For the first time this year, Pyrrha didn't have any idea what to do. For now she pushed her thoughts aside and entered Professor Ozpin's office.

She entered the room and saw Professor Ozpin looking out the window sipping his signature cup of tea. "Ahh Miss Nikos, thank you for coming so quickly." Ozpin said in a tired tone, "I'm very sorry for sending for you this late." "It was no trouble at all professor," she began, "we were already up when you sent for me." Ozpin took a sip of his tea, "I'd imagined so," he said turning around to face her, "All those late nights training with Mr. Arc must keep you up."

Pyrrha was silent for a moment, nobody had mentioned their late night training, she was certain of this. "Surprised Miss Nikos?" he asked smugly, "Don't be, I know almost everything that goes on within these walls." Pyrrha remained silent. "Now then Miss Nikos allow me to clarify, neither you nor the rest of your team is in any trouble because of these late night training sessions." He smiled, "If anything i wish to commend you for helping Mr. Arc to hone his abilities." The last sentence made Pyrrha blush.

Suddenly the smile disappeared from his face. "That however is NOT what I needed to talk to you about…" He moved to his desk at the center of the room. "What we need to discuss is Mr. Arc's place her at Beacon." Pyrrha was scared and she didn't know why. "What… What do you mean sir?" He sat finally and spoke, "What I mean Miss Nikos," he said coldly, "Is whether or not Mr. Arc truly earned his place here at Beacon." Suddenly Pyrrha understood, Ozpin knew that Jaune had lied about his papers to get in. "Don't speak Miss Nikos, just listen." He said seriously, "I have known that Mr. Arc has lied about his papers since the beginning of the year. I believed in his abilities and allowed him to enter. However now I see you having to send your nights training him just so he may pass his classes." Pyrrha grew more scared at every word. "What I need to know Miss Nikos, Is do you believe in Mr. Arc's abilities?" Pyrrha stood there petrified for what felt like an eternity. In her mind she knew that she held Jaune's future in her hands. For the entire time that Pyrrha thought about her answer, Ozpin never broke his gaze with her. After 10 minutes of debate in her head, Pyrrha finally answered. "Yes, Jaune can withstand anything you throw at him." Ozpin smiled once more. "Very well, you may return to your dorm Miss Nikos." As she began to leave, Ozpin spoke one last time, "Oh and Miss Nikos?" Pyrrha turned her head, "Don't forget about the ball this coming week." Pyrrha nodded and closed the door.

Pyrrha hardly made it 20 feet before she was forced to sit down. "What have I done, did I just change Jaune's entire life!?" she thought, "And what about Jaune, he couldn't even ask her to a simple dance! How is he expected to battle waves of Grimm?" She felt a sudden hatred of everything around her, Ozpin for giving her this responsibility, Jaune for not realizing what she felt! It was all too much for her, and suddenly Pyrrha began to cry. She sat alone crying for almost 3 minutes before she heard a noise like whispers. Suddenly Ren appeared, "Pyrrha…" he began, "What happened?" She looked up towards him and began to wipe away her tears, "I had to make a decision," She said still crying, "I'm scared about whether it was the right one."

Ren walked over to Pyrrha and sat beside her. "Listen Pyrrha," he said calmly, "Whatever the decision was, you can work through it with the team, C'mon." "NO," Pyrrha said almost screaming, "I can't tell Jaune anything!" Ren, now curious, asked, "Why? What was the decision?" Pyrrha bowed her head and spoke, hardly louder than a whisper, "Jaune snuck into Beacon," She began, "Ozpin knew and let him, now he's asking me if he should stay." Pyrrha looked at Ren, "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."

Ren looked at her and smiled, "I already knew." Pyrrha was confused. "What?" she asked. "I knew Jaune snuck into Beacon, so did Nora." Ren said simply, "We heard him mention it during one of your training sessions but decided not to say anything." Pyrrha just stared at Ren. " Listen Pyrrha," He paused, "No matter what decisions you have to make, always remember, your team is there for you." Pyrrha just sat there for a moment before saying one last thing, "There is one last thing Ren, and you can't tell anyone this." Ren chuckled, "You love Jaune don't you Pyrrha?" Pyrrha slapped him lightly across the face her smile returning. "What a shame," he said rubbing the side of his face, "I know for a fact that he loves you." With that Ren stood and helped Pyrrha back to their dorm.

By the time they returned to their dorm room, Nora had already gone to sleep and Jaune was busy cleaning up. Pyrrha looked at him and felt a wave of relief come over her. Neither Pyrrha nor Jaune, Ren noticed could make eye contact with each other for the rest of the night. He smiled and went to bed knowing Nora had told Jaune as well and praying that Yang would remain silent.

**Please leave a review and follow this story if you enjoyed it. Also feel free to leave any ideas you have for future chapters if you are so inclined.**


	2. A Dance To Remember

Chapter 2: A Dance To Remember

**Roman**

Another 4 days had passed since Roman's last meeting with Cinder, and he had finally developed a plan to deal with the little annoyance known as Ruby Rose. After explaining his scheme to Cinder, he smirked evilly. Cinder Falls stood there and listened with a neutral face. "Roman…," She began in an irritated tone, "Just to clarify, your plan is to try and attack this girl at the Vytal Festival Ball….?" "Yes," he replied with a look of anticipation. "When she is surrounded by hundreds of fellow hunters and huntresses in training from all the kingdoms of Remnant…?" Cinder asked in a very patronizing tone tone

Roman's tone didn't change in the slightest, "That is precisely what I am planning," he said smugly, "It will be the perfect time, we will know exactly where she is, and she'll be too distracted by whoever takes her to the dance to look for any danger." Cinder began to speak but Roman cut her off. "Also, weapons have been forbidden from the dance so most of the crowd will be unarmed." Cinder Fall sighed, "Very well Roman, but if this fails…" she began to form a fireball in her hand, "There will be consequences." He began to leave the room, "Of course madame." He left the room and smiled, within 48 hours, Ruby Rose would be a thing of the past.

**Ruby**

Ruby was not a easily surprised person, but even she was shocked by Yang this morning. Yang had pulled her away from the rest of their team early that morning and told her something she had learned the night before. Apparently, Yang had been walking the halls and heard somebody crying. "I looked for a bit and found Pyrrha… _CRYING._" Ruby was shocked, Pyrrha had always been level headed and calm, she didn't think anything could make her sad let alone cry uncontrollably. Yang continued, "It got weirder, I almost went up to talk to her before Ren appeared from out of nowhere and told me to let him handle it."

Ruby stood there and asked, "What did he do?" "He just walked over and spoke to her." she began, "I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying but Pyrrha eventually slapped him!" Ruby just listened. "Pyrrha…. Slapped Ren. Why?" she stammered out. "I don't know for sure sis, but I think Pyrrha…" he paused, "I heard Ren mention something about her loving Jaune before she slapped him." Ruby stopped walking and looked at Yang. "Ruby," Yang said finally, "I think Pyrrha loves Jaune and it's driving her crazy."

Ruby stood there in shock before suddenly, she had an idea. "Well then, it looks like Jaune has to ask Pyrrha to the ball." Yang stared at Ruby for a moment and sighed, saying simply, "Ruby, you know it isn't that easy." Ruby looked to Yang and replied, "Maybe not, but we both know Jaune loves Pyrrha and Pyrrha it looks like loves Jaune." Yang considered that before asking, "How did you know Jaune loved Pyrrha?" Ruby laughed, "Yang it's pretty obvious," She began, "I don't think Weiss knows though. The reason we were wondering what he was going to do yesterday, was because Blake and I didn't know if he'd ask Pyrrha or not."

Yang stood there thinking and suddenly laughed. "What's so funny?" Ruby asked. "Nothing," Yang replied, "It's just… how is it that Blake managed to find a person to go with before anybody else." The two of them chuckle for a moment before a voice silenced them. "Because," Sun suddenly said, "I don't dance around something like you do, I just walked up to her and asked." Yang and Ruby were caught off guard by Sun's sudden appearance. "Oh…. Hi Sun." They each said awkwardly. "Hello," he said deciding to let their earlier comments slide, "Have either of you seen Blake anywhere?" Ruby pointed upstairs, "She's uhh, she should be in our dorm." Sun began to leave but turned around and said one last thing, "Also Yang, It is that easy to ask somebody." And with that he left Ruby and Yang to their thoughts. Suddenly they saw Jaune pass by with a large smile on his face. "Huh," Yang began, "Looks like you and Sun were right sis. It was that easy." Suddenly Ruby smiled, "How long do you think it'll be before they say something?" Yang considered this in her mind, "They'll probably wait until the ball." Ruby smiled, "Can you imagine Weiss's reaction?"

_**2 Days Later**_

Ruby had never been less comfortable in her entire life. Her only consolation, was that she knew Weiss was even less comfortable. Ruby did not care for the dress she was wearing. It was a long, red, silk dress which she had worn only once before. Weiss appeared more comfortable in her shorter, more elaborate white dress but insisted that she continue to look around for another. "Weiss, we need to go now or we won't be able to enter." Ruby said. "Just one more minute Ruby, _please_." Weiss begged. "20 seconds." Ruby said warningly. "But…" Weiss began. Ruby began to count down. "Fine." Weiss said pouting.

The two of them traveled to the ball in Vale together with Nora and Ren. Weiss spoke only a small amount for the majority of the trip, and mostly listened to her's and Nora's conversation. Nora unlike the rest of their party was not the least bit nervous regarding the ball and had worn a very light pink and white dress. The conversation drifted during the trip to Vale from sweets to school but eventually settled on weaponry for the last part of the trip. "So Ruby, did you manage to hide Crescent Rose? Mine was way too large." Nora eventually asked. Ruby shook her head, "No, It was too bulky to hide on me and I don't trust someone in town to hold onto it." She said glumly. "Me neither," Weiss said. Ren suddenly turned away from his book and smiled. "Jealous?" He asked pulling out StormFlower from his sleeves. "Lucky," Ruby said, "It feels weird not having Crescent Rose on me right now." "Tell me about it." Nora and Weiss said in unison. "I still wonder what Jaune decided to do." Weiss said. Ruby and Nora looked at each other for a moment and winked.

**Blake**

Blake was travelling with Sun, Yang, and some boy she hadn't seen before then. Yang, Sun, and the other boy spoke to each other while Blake read her book. The topic of weapons eventually came up, with the other boy asking Sun if he had brought his. "Couldn't stash them anywhere, and they're too large for this suit." Sun replied nonchalantly. Yang grinned suddenly, "Oh Sun, couldn't keep your weapon?" She began to adjust her golden dress, "That's a shame." she said revealing her Gauntlets. Blake and the other boy chuckled while Sun blushed. "Shut up Yang," he said embarrassed, "And what about you," he said addressing Blake, "Where are yours?" Blake closed her book and reached behind her long black silk dress to reveal Gambol Shroud. She looked at Sun and smiled smugly. "Oh calm down Sun," she said kissing him on the cheek, "It's just a joke."

**Jaune**

Jaune hadn't been this happy in a long time. To him, nothing could ruin this night. Since he had asked Pyrrha and she said yes, he had been in a noticeably better mood than he had been in weeks. The only thing that bothered him was, that even though they had agreed to keep quiet regarding their going together, word had still gotten around. He was certain that Ren and Nora had figured it out, but what bothered him was Ruby and Yang. They had been giving him weird looks since he asked her, and he hadn't been able to figure out how they knew.

The one person who had confused him the most was the Faunus girl that Cardin had been picking on earlier that year, Velvet Scarlatina. He had passed her a few times in class and she'd been giving him weird looks for the past two days. Now Pyrrha said that she come later with Velvet. Even though Jaune knew everything would be alright, he couldn't help but be nervous and played with the gold cufflinks on his suit. He was grateful for the distraction when he saw Ruby enter with Weiss. "Hey Ruby." He said happily. "Hi Jaune," she said, "How's the dance going for you."

By this time Weiss had walked away to find Blake and Yang. "It could be better…." he said whilst scanning the room for Pyrrha. Ruby picked up on this, "Lost Pyrrha did you?" she said playfully, "Yeah," He paused, "Wait… how did you know that?" Ruby raised an eyebrow, "Jaune, your mood gave it away." she looked around for a moment before whispering, "She's on the west side with Velvet." He nodded, "Thanks Rubes, I owe you one." And he began to walk to that side as Weiss returned with Yang and some Faunus guy Blake appeared to be with.

**Yang**

"Where's he going?" Weiss asked Ruby. Yang and Ruby both sighed at this, "You still haven't figured it out?" "Figured what out?" She asked in an irritated tone. "Who Jaune came with!" Yang said just short of a yell. Thankfully the surrounding sounds drowned out the conversation to anybody else. "No I haven't, I've been trying all week but you guys have been no help." she responded. "Take a guess," Yang said, "Any guess." At this point Weiss was becoming annoyed, "I can't," she yelled, "I have no idea!" Thankfully the crowd continued to drown out their conversation. "For pity's' sake, It's Jaune, who do you think!" Yang said.

Suddenly Jaune's voice was heard, "You called?" Weiss and Yang turned and saw them together. Pyrrha wearing a beautiful scarlet dress that matched her hair perfectly, and Jaune wearing a dark tuxedo with golden cufflinks. Yang and Weiss were speechless for a moment, "It… It was nothing." Yang eventually stammered out. "You look lovely Pyrrha." Weiss said next. "Thank you," Pyrrha said blushing, "My friend Velvet helped me with it." The group continued to talk and soon after Ren and Nora joined the conversation. Weiss, Yang could see, was in shock at how beautiful Pyrrha was and at Jaune's courage to ask her out. The group gradually dispersed with Blake and Sun leaving with Ren and Nora while Yang, Weiss, and Ruby spoke with Pyrrha while Jaune went to find Velvet.

**Roman**

Roman Torchwick rarely got as excited over any jobs as he did for this one. He was finally going to be rid of the thorn in his side, Ruby Rose. And what better time than when she was at her least prepared? It amazed him what money could buy, he could make the entire White Fang follow him just for a bit of it, and remove a specific annoyance from his side for just a bit more to the right people. Roman chuckled as he made his way to the entrance of the ball. "I'm sorry sir," One of the doormen said, "But I must ask to see your invitation." Roman smiled, "I'm afraid I don't have one." The doorman frowned, "Then I'm afraid I cannot let you enter." Roman chuckled, "You say that," He paused as his men disabled the security behind the doorman, "But I think I can." Suddenly Roman raised his cane and smashed it against the side of the doorman's skull making him collapse. Roman dropped some money near him, "Here's for the doctor." And Roman began to walk inside followed by ten White Fang members.

**Ozpin**

Ozpin, despite his outward appearance, truly loved the Vytal Festival Ball, he saw it as a chance for schools all around the world to come together, cooperate, and learn from each other. He walked around and watched several students dance together. He chuckled as he watched Miss Long and Belladonna abandon their dates for each other. He continued to walk around and saw Jaune talking to Ruby for a moment. Ozpin chuckled to himself. "I hope Miss Nikos isn't the jealous type." Another thing that many students failed to realize, was that when he said he knew what happened within the walls of Beacon, he knew exactly what happened within Beacon's walls. He knew Pyrrha's feelings towards Jaune when he asked her for her opinion. He had never really considered removing Jaune from Beacon, he simply wanted to push Pyrrha to admit her feelings. Ozpin continued to walk around for several minutes, speaking with Professors Port and Oobleck who were debating something regarding the price of gold and its practicality. Ozpin continued to walk around until he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Roman Torchwick had just entered the ball along with several of his subordinates.

**Ruby**

Ruby knew something was wrong almost instantly but she couldn't tell what. She had been talking to Yang, when suddenly the entire room went silent. Ruby began to turn around when she heard his voice. "Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen!" Roman yelled to the entire room, "We are tonight's entertainment." He paused as his men disabled the remaining security. "Now then, I just have one question. Where is Ruby Rose?" Ruby froze in place, and suddenly her legs felt incredibly heavy. Yang looked to her in terror and began to move to hide her. Suddenly Roman began to enter the crowd. "Ruby?" He asked, "Ruby Rose." "Anybody seen Ruby Rose?" He asked. "I'll settle for her friends and family." Suddenly he looked around very seriously. He neared Yang, and Ruby began to reach for Crescent Rose. She froze again, _she had left it at Beacon_. She was defenseless without her weapon! She looked around once more praying that Roman wouldn't find her. Suddenly she saw Professor Ozpin walking around the back of the crowd with a look she hadn't seen him with before. It was _Anger._

**Ozpin**

Ozpin was not the kind of man to let his anger show easily, but tonight was an exception. As Roman began to speak, he made his way around the crowd to look for any students who had managed to sneak weapons in. As he made his way around the crowd he saw Ruby, and saw the terror in her eyes. This only made him angrier as he found Miss Belladonna and her date standing with Miss Valkyrie and Mr. Ren. "Do any of you have weapons on you?" He whispered bluntly. Nora shook her head in terror while Miss Belladonna and Ren nodded. "Good," He began, "Prepare yourselves, I have a feeling that Mr. Torchwick isn't very patient." Suddenly he heard a blast from the center of the crowd and screams…

**Jaune**

Jaune looked at Torchwick with a mixture of fear and anger. He had been separated from Pyrrha just before Torchwick's interruption and was almost next to him as he paced around the room. He was angry, and it had taken all his willpower not to attack Roman as soon as he began to ask for Ruby. He looked around the room for a bit until he saw Yang, and behind her Ruby. He stood still even as Torchwick made his way around the crowd. "Very well," Torchwick said finally, "If Miss Rose won't come forward, it's time for volunteers." Jaune looked to Yang who had spotted him in the crowd and they each wondered what volunteers meant. "Who's first let me see," Roman said as he walked around the room.

Suddenly he stopped and smiled. "Well it seems we have our first volunteer," He said evilly as he pulled someone from the crowd. It was Velvet. "Madame please say your name for the crowd." "My… My name is Velvet Scarlatina." She stuttered out. "What a lovely name," He said, "Now then, unless Miss Rose comes out of hiding in the next 5 seconds," He pushed Velvet a few feet away from him. "Miss Scarlatina here won't be able to attend class tomorrow." He said raising his cane gun. Roman began to count down as Velvet stood there paralyzed by fear. "Stop." Jaune heard who said it but prayed he was wrong. He turned his head and saw Pyrrha come out of the crowd and stood in the way of Roman and Velvet. Roman smiled, "Well it seems we have a celebrity in the house," He said patronizingly, "Miss Pyrrha Nikos," He began to circle round her, "Top of her class at Sanctum, cover of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes, and _Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah_." Pyrrha just stared him down. "Please leave, Ruby isn't here." Roman's eyes widened at that, "Oh so you know where she is?" he said sarcastically, "Why didn't you just say so?"

Pyrrha began to walk back slowly. "Please just go." she said the fear apparent in her voice. Well you see I can't do that yet, and unless somebody can tell me where Miss Rose has gone, I'm afraid you're gonna pay." He began to raise his can gun once more. Jaune had enough, he ran towards Pyrrha and Velvet and just as Roman pulled the trigger, he pushed the both of them out of the way.

**Pyrrha**

Jaune was less lucky. Despite Jaune's rush towards Velvet and her, he was just too slow. He'd managed to push the both of them out of the way but had received a full blast from Roman's weapon to the chest. He was knocked backwards several feet and wasn't moving. Pyrrha rushed towards him. "Oh Ho Ho!" Roman yelled, "Now this is a party!" When Pyrrha reached him, Jaune was barely conscious. "Jaune, don't worry everything is gonna be fine." she said panicking. Suddenly she heard gunfire behind them but ignored it for the time being. "Pyrrha…" he said weakly. "Not now Jaune, just stay awake." Pyrrha said trying to stop the bleeding. "Pyrrha." He said firmly. Pyrrha looked at him. "I'm sorry." Jaune said. He closed his eyes. "Jaune," Pyrrha said frantically, "Jaune stay awake." she began to cry "Jaune Please don't go to sleep. _Please_." But he wouldn't move at all. "Jaune," Pyrrha asked one last time, tears filling her eyes, "Please don't die for me."

**Ren**

Ren had throughout his life, always been a relatively calm person. Now was not the time to be calm. Ren saw Jaune dive in front of the blast to protect Pyrrha and Velvet, and when the blast hit him, he was frozen in place. He didn't react for almost 10 seconds until he heard Torchwick's gloating. Suddenly Ren felt a dark side of him taking control and he grabbed StormFlower from his suit and ran towards Roman screaming, "I WILL END YOU!"

**Nora**

Nora was scared. More scared than most of the other people here, because she knew just how dangerous Ren was right now. Despite knowing Ren for almost her entire life, she had never seen Ren like this until now. Nora hid and observed the battle from behind the scenes.

**Ozpin**

Ozpin watched the blast from Torchwick's Cane-Cannon hit Jaune right in the chest. Never before had Ozpin ever been so focused on a single goal. He would destroy Roman Torchwick. But even Ozpin, with his stoic nature, was frozen by the attack. The only thing that broke his paralysis was when Mr. Ren rushed forward attacking Roman. Ozpin looked first towards his friend Nora who was terrified. Only then did Ozpin understand the gravity of Mr. Ren's reaction. Suddenly he began to rush towards Roman.

**Blake**

Blake saw the blast connect with Jaune's chest but was almost frozen by it. Suddenly Roman began to laugh and Blake looked towards Yang. It was too late, Blake saw her eyes turn red and got ready to join her. Interestingly enough, the first person to move was Ren who made a beeline for Roman. Roman saw him coming and knocked him to the ground. "Too slow Kiddie." Roman said laughing. Suddenly Professor Ozpin ran forward and smacked Roman across the face with his cane. Yang and Blake looked to each other and moved to distract his henchmen. Ren appeared beside them and handled another. Within moments, the henchmen opened fire on Blake, Yang, and Ren. Blake looked to see Roman and Ozpin dueling with their canes. The group moved quickly and Yang was able to defeat another two whilst she disabled another.

Ren, they each looked to see, was battling three more of their men and appeared to have broken a fourth ones leg. Yang moved to help him, but Blake froze and watched the fight between Ozpin and Roman. Ozpin had gained the upper hand and appeared to have broken Roman's nose. Roman suddenly slashed Ozpin across the face with his cane leaving a large cut across the side of his face. "Well Professor," He snarled, "As much as I've enjoyed this little fight, I really must be off." He aimed his cane at Ozpin's feet and fired. Ozpin was able to move out of the way but was still knocked to the ground. Blake could hear the bone cracking. He then aimed the cane at Yang and Ren who were distracted by White Fang reinforcements. "Ta Ta kiddies." Blake moved quickly and was able to knock Roman off balance before he could fire. Roman dropped his cane but still managed to pull the trigger. The resulting shot hit just beneath Blake's feet and she was blown into the wall. Roman stood up and began to run towards the exit before Blake passed out.

**Ruby**

Enough was enough, she watched the fight between Ozpin and Roman frozen in place. When she saw Blake save her sister, she'd had enough. She rushed forward grabbing Roman's discarded cane. Roman ran outside and made his way towards a ship. Ruby continued to chase him even after he began to take off in the Bullhead. "This isn't over Red!" he screamed to her, "And I'll send a bill for the cane." Ruby snapped and aimed the cane. Ruby fired the gun, the knock-back almost knocked her onto the ground, but the shot was almost perfect. The shot hit one of the Bullhead's engines causing the ship to lose control and crash. Roman emerged from the wreckage dazed but alive. Ruby could see the blood coming from the left side of his face even from 20 feet away. "You stupid girl." he said in a controlled but angry tone,"You've started something now. And I will make you pay." Ruby ran forward intending to hurt him as much as possible. He knocked her down with a single punch to her chest. He smiled as a second Bullhead came to pick him up, "But for now, why don't you go check on your friends." He said laughing.

Ruby prepared a second shot, "Ah Ah Ah," Roman said pulling a detonator from his coat pocket, "We can't have that now can we?" He pushed the detonator and suddenly Roman's can began to beep. Ruby realized what it meant too little too late and threw the cane away just as it detonated, knocking her down. Ruby tried but couldn't get up and began to slowly pass out as Yang came to her side. "Ruby!" Yang screamed, "Stay up sis, c'mon. Stay awake!" The last noise Ruby heard before passing out, were the ambulance sirens and her sister screaming for them to hurry over to her.

**Updates for this story will likely be irregular, but i will try to make them weekly if possible. Please enjoy the story and leave a review. This is my very first story, and I wanted to start it off as strong as possible.**

**Also could you find the 2 references I made in this chapter? Comment what they are if you did. And please leave a review for the story, it really helps.**


	3. The Longest Night

Chapter 3: The Longest Night

**Author's Note: This chapter is one of the longest I have written so far at roughly 3900 words. However it contains a very minimal of action and mostly clarifies the events of Chapter 2. This chapter also servers to continue the building of tension created in the previous chapters. That being said, please enjoy and leave a review.**

**Ruby**

Ruby was scared. She didn't know where she was or how she'd gotten there. Ruby looked around and saw nothing but trees and falling snow. She began to walk slowly and began to call out to anybody, "Hello!" she yelled, "Is anyone there?" Ruby continued to walk until she heard a faint noise ahead of her.. "Hey!" she yelled, "Can you hear me?" Ruby listened closely and heard footsteps coming towards her. Suddenly Ruby felt nervous and reached for Crescent Rose. It was gone! Then Ruby saw them; 3 Beowolves, all searching for her. Ruby began to run from the wolves but doing this only drew their attention. The 3 wolves split up and began to surround her. Ruby just kept running, but she was too slow. The beowulf pack surrounded Ruby and prepared to finish her. Ruby collapsed to her knees, closed her eyes, and begged for somebody to help.

**Weiss**

Weiss was only just able to pull Yang away as the ambulance took Ruby away. "Let Go Of Me!" Yang screamed at Weiss, "I Need To Go With Her!" Weiss pulled even harder, "There's nothing you can do Yang!" she screamed, "You need to let the doctors handle on her!" Yang collapsed in tears. Weiss stood by her friend and tried not to cry. She knew somebody needed to be strong. Weiss eventually helped Yang stand up and began to lead her back towards the building. When they entered, it was chaos. Most of the crowd had been removed but there were still dozens of injured people being moved to Vale's hospital for treatment and recovery. Weiss eventually found Ren and Nora who were sat against the wall, this was the first time she had seen Nora sad. Weiss sat Yang next to Nora and spoke. "How bad is it?" Ren looked at her with a sad look across his face, "Bad…" and he pointed to another side of the room where Sun was.

Weiss walked over and saw how bad it was. Weiss had seen Blake tackle Roman before he could shoot Ren and Yang. She didn't see Blake being thrown against the wall by the shot Roman still managed to fire however and she could see that Blake was far from okay. Weiss saw that she had a deep cut along the side of her cheek, as well as a broken rib according to the paramedic. But what worried Weiss the most wasn't those injuries, it was that Blake wasn't conscious. Weiss looked at Sun and saw the anger and pain in his eyes; he could see that he wanted to kill Roman. More paramedics arrived and began to move her to the hospital. She watched as Blake entered the ambulance and disappeared into the night. Weiss looked to Sun with tears forming in her eyes and hugged him. Sun didn't resist and he stood there with her, each of them praying that Blake would wake up. "Thank You." Weiss said, wiping away her tears, and she returned to Yang.

Yang had stopped crying for now but was hunched over on her side just hoping that Ruby would be okay. Suddenly Weiss looked around, "Where's Professor Ozpin?" Weiss asked, he would never just leave after something like this. "Hospital," Ren replied coldly, he turned towards Weiss and his tone softened, "Don't worry it's nothing serious, just a broken leg." Weiss sat down and began to think. Suddenly Weiss's eyes widened and she was scared, "Nora, Where's Jaune?" Nora suddenly stiffened and went silent. This only worried Weiss more, "Ren, where's Jaune?" Nora began to tear up, "They took him to the hospital. He didn't look good." Each word made Nora sniveled harder, "Pyrrha wouldn't leave him and neither would Velvet." Nora couldn't control herself anymore and she cried into Ren's shoulder. Weiss sat beside Yang for a moment, frozen by the news. Suddenly, she too began to cry.

**Blake**

Blake was confused about where she was. She began to move and saw that there was a forest and little else around her. Blake was unsure of why she was here and tried to remember what had happened to bring her here. Suddenly an incredible pain washed over Blake as she tried to think of what had happened, almost causing Blake to collapse. For now, Blake stopped thinking about the past night and began to focus on finding out where she was. She began to walk around the forest slowly and reached the edge of a mountain before long and turned around to head the other direction. Suddenly, she heard something in the distance, something large and coming this way. Blake began to climb the trees and soon enough she saw it. It was an Ursa, twice the size of a normal one and hunting something… It began to move towards Blake as she reached for Gambol Shroud. She froze for a moment when she realized it wasn't there, and began to look frantically for anything to use as a weapon! She couldn't find anything and the Ursa was only 10 seconds away! Suddenly she had an idea, she jumped back down to the ground and began to make as much noise as possible. The Ursa heard this and began to move even faster as Blake moved between the trees. The Ursa smashed any trees it passed and left a trail of destruction in its wake. Blake began to move, jumping between the tree limbs as quickly as she could.

**Weiss**

Weiss didn't sleep the entire night. As soon as the ambulances had left with the last of the injured, Weiss and company made their way to Vale's hospital in silence. Yang, as soon as they entered, demanded the receptionist let her see her sister. The receptionist told her that she was still in surgery, and they were unsure when she would be released. Weiss led Yang to the waiting room while Ren and Nora asked where Pyrrha and Velvet were. The nurse pointed to the far side of the room near Yang and herself and Weiss saw them. Pyrrha, Weiss could see, had stopped crying for the time being. Weiss was relieved for a moment; Perhaps someone else could take charge for a bit? Weiss began to lead Yang closer to Velvet and Pyrrha, but then Weiss looked at Pyrrha once more.

Pyrrha was a wreck. The beautiful makeup she had been wearing earlier that day was smeared all around her eyes and across her face. Weiss sat Yang down a few seats away from her and Weiss began to move closer. "Pyrrha?" Weiss said in a concerned tone. Velvet put her arm on Weiss's shoulder, "She won't hear you." she said solemnly, "She hasn't said or done anything since they took Jaune away." Weiss listened sadly, "How long ago was that?" Weiss saw tears form around Velvet's eyes, "4 hours ago." She began to cry. Weiss hugged her, saying only a few words. "It's gonna be okay Velvet, It's gonna be okay." They stayed like this for another few minutes while Velvet tried to calm herself. "Thank you Weiss." she said wiping away her tears, "Thank you." "No problem Velvet." Weiss said quietly. Suddenly she saw Sun enter and walk to the receptionist. Sun spoke for only a short time, and went to the patient's wing. Weiss smiled, "At least somebody got good news today." Velvet shook her head and looked towards the ground, "There is no good news today, the only thing that can happen anymore is for it to not be as bad as we thought." Weiss looked at Velvet and suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

**Blake**

Suddenly Blake found herself cornered against the edge of the large mountain with the Ursa fast approaching. She stood still for as the Ursa charged through the trees. The Ursa stopped for a moment and faced Blake, now smiling. As if the Ursa sensed this, it charged with the speed of a moving train. Blake let the Ursa come at her and, when the Ursa was less than 5 feet away, dove to the side as the monster smashed itself against the rocky cliff! Suddenly, Blake looked up and saw the mountain shattering from the force of the Ursa's charge. The entire mountain began to break apart, finally crushing the Ursa, and forcing Blake to run. Blake ran between and up as many trees as she could and it appeared as though she would escape. Suddenly, Blake tripped over one of the many uprooted trees left by the Ursa. Blake saw the coming rockslide and tried to move away but she could see it was already too late and she closed her eyes to the coming wave of rocks.

**Roman**

Roman was not in the best of moods. It had been at least 6 hours since his operation against Ruby Rose had collapsed around him, and he knew Cinder would be less than pleased. All he wanted to do, was kill Ruby Rose and be done with it. Roman went over the nights events in his head as the doctor cleaned his various injuries. It was a simple operation, and by all means this should have been easy too. But then that stupid girl wouldn't just come forward! Then that wannabe hero dove in front of those two girls! Roman took solace in the fact that _that_ particular irritation was most likely dead. But that little bit of heroics had set something off in the crowd and he suddenly had a full blown battle on his hands! "Hell, it was fun." He conceded, "Especially fighting the old guy." But then that stupid faunus girl tackled him before he could handle the kids blocking his exit! He lost his favorite cane over that! Luckily the two kids guarding the door rushed off to handle more of his men. But then she showed up… The stupid kid who couldn't just come forward earlier. "This all would've been so much easier had she just come forward when he said." He thought angrily. ROman would not let this be the end of his business with Miss Ruby Rose, she blew up a damn Bullhead! WITH HIM INSIDE OF IT! He frowned as he looked in the mirror. His once clean face now had a horrible scar just above his eyebrow. He smiled, "At least the stupid girl had gotten a bit of a reward for her trouble." Roman thought aloud. Even with blood covering part of his face, Roman saw his cane detonate right in front of her. There was no way that she was coming up from that anytime soon. Suddenly Cinder called him into her office.

"Well Roman?" Cinder said coldly. "Well what?" Roman replied angrily. Cinder's eyes flashed brightly, "What the hell went wrong down there!?" She said almost screaming. "The situation got... complicated." Roman said simply, "We couldn't find the girl, so I used… _other means_ of drawing her out." Cinder grinded her teeth violently, "Did those means include attacking the crowd of training Hunters and Huntresses? Did it include dueling the Headmaster of Beacon?" She said pointing to a screen showing footage of him dueling the old guy. "DID IT INCLUDE CRASHING A BULLHEAD IN THE MIDDLE OF VALE!?" Roman sat there calmly, "No, like I said the operation got complicated," He paused, "What matters is that we took out Ruby Rose for the time being." Cinder snapped, "BY DECLARING WAR ON BEACON!," she screamed, "This was meant to be a surgical operation to take out one girl! Instead you turned it into a warzone, hospitalized over a dozen of people, and lost over 20 of our men!" Roman spoke coldly, "The target was neutralized and…" "Oh for now!" she screamed, "And this operation's fallout shows." She said pointing to the large scar left on the left side of his face. "How long until your next bit of anger towards this girl Roman? How long until you lose it again?" Cinder demanded. Roman sat there and considered his answer, "If this girl doesn't wake up, we won't need to worry." He said finally. Cinder's eyes narrowed, "One last chance." Roman didn't even smile, and left Cinder to organize his men. She yelled after him, "ONE LAST CHANCE!"

**Blake**

When Blake opened her eyes again, she saw Sun beside her. Sun saw her wake up and said sweetly, "Hey kitty, how was the nap?" She smiled at him and tried to get up, only to fall backwards feeling very light-headed. Sun spoke quietly, "Just relax Blake, It's been a long night." Blake looked at him, and saw the circles under his eyes. Blake tried once again to get up only for Sun to stop her. "Just lay down kitty, you've been through alot." Blake looked at him confused until she remembered the fight at the ball. Blake relaxed into her bed and turned to Sun. "How long was I unconscious?" Sun's smile faded as he spoke, "9 hours." Blake look at him in shock, before Sun said again softly, "Get some rest Blake, you'll need to save your strength." Blake looked at Sun, and suddenly her eyes began to feel very heavy. She fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes. Sun smiled as he listened to her gentle purring as she fell back asleep.

**Weiss**

It had been almost 11 hours since they had arrived at the hospital, and Yang had refused to leave. The group had learned from the receptionist that Blake had awoken not long ago but had since fallen back asleep. Weiss was relieved and Yang saw this as an indication that Ruby would awaken soon. While Yang sat with returning hope, Weiss went to check on Blake.

She looked peaceful Weiss thought, even more so than usual. Weiss moved closer, the cut along her cheek was smaller than she had previously thought. She sat beside her sleeping friend and thought aloud, "At least you're okay." she said. Slowly her thoughts drifted to Ruby. Weiss was scared for her, as she had pulled Yang away from Ruby's unconscious body Weiss caught a glimpse of her. Blood drenching her young face, several visibly broken bones, and worst of all, she had hardly been breathing. Weiss almost cried just thinking about it, their fearless leader, her friend, was broken and she couldn't do anything about it! Weiss sniveled and tried to push the thoughts from her mind.

She looked at Blake, still napping peacefully, Weiss giggled at her gentle purrs. "Thank goodness she's okay at least." Weiss said, "Yang's a wreck, Ruby's in critical, I don't know what I'd do if you were hurt… badly that is." Suddenly Weiss heard a small chuckle come from Blake's bed, "I think you and I have different ideas on how bad something can hurt." Weiss looked at Blake and laughed, "How long were you awake?" she asked. Blake turned her head to face Weiss, "I still don't understand what was making you giggle." she said grinning smugly. "Nothing important." Weiss said embarrassed. Suddenly Blake's grin disappeared from her face, "How bad is Jaune?" Weiss froze. During the entire night, she had only been focused on seeing Blake and Ruby. She had only thought of Jaune when she was talking with Velvet when they first arrived. Weiss felt the shame rush over her as she lowered her head, "Velvet said he didn't look so good." How could she have forgotten Jaune? He had saved Pyrrha and Velvet's lives! Blake turned back onto her back and spoke quietly, "I was right." she began, "I told Ruby the first day that real life wasn't a fairy tale." She turned to Weiss, tears forming in her Amber eyes, "Now look! Jaune saved Pyrrha's and Velvet's lives and might die because of it! And Ruby…." Weiss put her hand on Blake's shoulder, "Don't say that," Weiss said softly, "Ruby is going to be fine, so is Jaune!" Weiss said. Blake, even in her weakened state, noticed that Weiss couldn't make eye contact while saying this. She was trying to convince herself Blake realised, "Weiss…" Blake began her voice breaking at each word, "Even if everything turns out okay; Things will _never_ be the same." Weiss looked at Blake and began to cry. "I know," Weiss said between tears, "I just don't want things to change." Blake tried to comfort her friend, "I know," she said, fighting back her own tears. "Neither do I."

**Ruby**

When Ruby opened her eyes again, the Beowolves hadn't moved. She looked again and saw why. A mysterious figure had appeared and impaled one of the wolves with one of the largest blades Ruby had ever seen. The figure, Ruby observed, stood still as the 2 remaining wolves moved to surround him. The wolves charged, and suddenly the figure jumped several feet into the sky. The figure levitated in the air for only a moment as the wolves stopped beneath the figure and were watching him curiously. Ruby saw what was going to happen just quickly enough, and she found a small rock to hide behind. Suddenly the figure dove back towards the ground with his sword in each hand.. The ground shook violently and, when Ruby looked again, the wolves had disappeared. Ruby approached the center of the crater, and saw the mysterious figure replacing his sword within his cloak.

Ruby approached the figure cautiously. "Who are you?" she asked. Ruby looked at the figure again, they were mostly hidden underneath a dark black and red cloak. The figure slowly removed his hood. He turned to Ruby, "A protector Miss Rose," he said in a calm tone, "One who's mission is to protect you from the dangers inside your own mind." He said tapping Ruby's forehead. Ruby was confused and looked at the figure once more. He was a Faunus, Ruby saw two small cat ears emerging from his messy blonde hair as well as two light scars across his left cheek and eye. What most disturbed about this mysterious protector, were his eyes. One burned a brilliant red while the other was a soothing lilac color. Ruby couldn't remember, but she felt she had seen him before. "But what's so special about me?" Ruby asked suspiciously. The figure looked at her seriously, "The answer to that question lies within yourself Miss Rose. Only you may answer that question." The figure turned as he heard more Beowolves approach, "For now Miss Rose, If you wish to find the answer Miss Rose, I must recommend that you simply," He leaned in closely, "Wake Up." As he finished this sentence, snow began to surround Ruby. Ruby closed her eyes and allowed the snow to engulf her.

When she opened her eyes again, Ruby saw Yang and Weiss sat together in the corner of a room. Ruby looked and saw the sadness in their eyes, and Ruby was confused. "What's wrong?" she asked. Suddenly Yang and Weiss lifted their heads. "Ruby?" Yang said. "Yes Yang?" Ruby said quietly, "What's wrong?" Ruby tried to rise from her bed, but suddenly she felt burning pain all across her body and let out a scream of pure agony. "Ruby!" Yang screamed reaching for her sister while Weiss ran of the room screaming for a doctor. Ruby quivered under the pain and collapsed onto her bed. Yang stood by her, tears forming at the eyes, "It's gonna be okay Ruby. It's gonna be okay." Ruby opened her eyes once more and looked at Yang, her hair was different than it had been during the dance. Ruby spoke weakly, "Yang?" Yang turned to her sister and tried to comfort her, "Yes Ruby what is it?" Ruby was afraid of her question but knew she needed to ask it, "How long have I been asleep for?" Yang's skin whitened, "It's been…" Yang's voice broke as she continued to speak, "It's been 4 days." Ruby's eyes widened before becoming very heavy. Yang saw this, "Don't go back to sleep Ruby!" she said on the verge of a scream, "You need to stay awake!" Ruby turned her head, "How is Jaune?" she asked finally. Yang shuddered, "He's…" she gulped, "He's in a coma." Ruby's eyes closed as the doctor entered the room. The last thing she heard before falling asleep were Yang's screams as the doctor gave her a shot.

**Blake**

Blake was walking around the hospital's patient wing when she heard Yang's first screams. Blake rushed as quickly towards her as her bandages would allow. By the time she reached her, she saw what was wrong. The doctor was beside Ruby giving her some sort of tranquilizer while Yang sat beside her weeping. Blake began to limp towards Yang before Weiss stopped her. "Don't, there's nothing you can do." Blake looked at Weiss and saw the sadness in her face. Blake stood there, wondering when this nightmare would end.

**Weiss**

The doctor walked to Weiss and Blake as Yang rushed to her sister once more, "Are you two her friends?" he asked seriously. They each nodded, "Good, Listen carefully." He began, "Your friend over there is in pretty bad shape, that she woke up this quickly is a miracle." He looked over to Ruby, "That being said, she still is far from ready to leave. Normally, it'd be another week before she woke up and another 2 before she could move let alone rise out of bed." Blake and Weiss listened in silence, "I need you girls to keep an eye on your friend," He said next, "Something about her is special." Blake and Weiss nodded one last time as the doctor left the room. Weiss stood frozen in place with Blake for what felt like an eternity. Weiss stood by her friend and thought of everything that had happened over the past three days, she wondered how this nightmare would end.

_Unfortunately, Not all stories have a happy ending. -Cardinal67_

**Thank you all for reading this especially long chapter. I will try to post another more action filled chapter soon to make up for this relatively… Mild chapter. Thank you for reading. Also the "It's was a Dream" Is not a cop out, that is gonna come back later and throughout much of the story. In any case, thank you for reading, please leave a review, and sorry for posting this so late the final editing was long for this one. **


	4. The Beginning

Chapter 4: The Beginning…

**Author's Note: Mild-Severe (Depending On Your Definition) Language is used in this chapter. And as such is NOT suitable for children under 13.**

_**3 Days Later… **_

**Velvet**

Velvet had been with Pyrrha since the beginning of this nightmare, and it pained her to see her friend this way. Classes had been suspended at Beacon for the foreseeable future, and Pyrrha had spent nearly every moment sat beside Jaune's bed with Velvet. Velvet looked at her friend and saw nothing but pain in her eyes. And Velvet felt responsible. Torchwick had pulled _her_ out of the crowd that day, which drew Pyrrha and for damn sure caused Jaune to run to their rescue. Maybe Torchwick had chosen her, but if it had been anyone else… Velvet didn't know what would have happened. All Velvet thought, was that if maybe she had hidden better, maybe Jaune wouldn't be in the condition he's in.

Velvet looked at Jaune, he was broken. The blast from Roman's cane had shattered most of his rib cage and caused massive internal bleeding. The doctors said that Jaune's survival was nothing short of a miracle. Velvet saw Jaune after attack and it was no miracle. Velvet would never forget the sight of him; his hair drenched in blood, Pyrrha crying over him, and that glow around him… Velvet understood Aura, better than most, but even she had never seen the level of Aura Jaune had inside of him. It had protected him, and probably saved his life. "But was this even life?" Velvet asked herself, Even now, despite the massive healing his Aura had performed, Jaune was still broken. He was alive only because army of the machines he was hooked up to. Velvet sniveled as she watched his motionless body, praying for him to wake up.

**Weiss**

Weiss watched, with utter shock, Ruby's rapid recovery. It had been only 3 days since she had awoken from her coma and she was already walking again. The doctors said it was a miracle that she'd recovered so fast, and that she was perfectly healthy. But Weiss, Blake, and Yang knew something was wrong. The special spark within Ruby was gone. She had hardly spoken to anybody since she had woken up the second time, and had distanced herself from her team. She had taken to sneaking away from the team and refused to say where she had gone, and what's worse, was that Weiss had followed her once and seen Ruby just sat in Jaune's room completely silent. Weiss dared not follow her into the room, but she knew what was wrong.

Weiss understood guilt, but unfortunately she knew the power it had over people. Another week passed before she cornered Ruby and confronted her, "Ruby we need to talk." Ruby ignored her and continued walking. "Ruby please, It's important." Weiss begged. Ruby didn't break her stride or look back. Finally she said it, "What happened to Jaune isn't your fault." Ruby stopped in place as soon as Weiss said that, and instantly Weiss wished she had remained quiet. "Ruby…" Weiss began. Suddenly she heard Ruby's quiet crying and whimpering. Weiss walked to Ruby and hugged her.

"Shhhh" Weiss said softly, cradling Ruby's head, "It's gonna to be okay." Ruby cried into Weiss's shoulder even harder. Weiss looked at her friend, "It's okay Ruby," Weiss repeated in a soothing tone, "It's okay." Ruby pulled herself away from Weiss and looked at her with daggers in her eyes, "No Weiss, It won't be Okay!" Ruby screamed, "Nothing is going to be Okay!" Weiss stood there paralyzed by Ruby's unnatural anger. Weiss had, in all the months they'd been at Beacon, never seen Ruby cry let alone been yelled at by her. Ruby walked slowly towards Weiss, "Do you really think everything is okay?" She asked angrily, "Look at Pyrrha, LOOK AT JAUNE!" She finally screamed pointing down the hall towards Jaune's room.

Weiss turned slowly and saw Pyrrha at the end of the hall sat beside Jaune's bed. Ruby looked at Weiss with an anger she had never felt before, "Look at her!" Ruby yelled, "Have you even heard Pyrrha _SPEAK_ since… since…" Ruby couldn't bring herself to say the words. There was a short silence before Weiss spoke calmly saying, "Ruby, You can't blame yourself for Jaune." "Can't I Weiss!?" Ruby screamed, "This whole situation's _fucked_ and it's ALL MY FAULT! And then there's _you..._" Ruby said angrily, "You stand there and have the gall to act like everything's fine!" Weiss was taken aback by this, "Ruby…" "Who are you to act so free when the rest of us are burdened by _this_! What makes you so damn special?!"

Weiss was on the verge of tears and Ruby realized all she had said. Ruby lowered her head in shame, "I'm sorry Weiss…" Ruby finally said sobbing. "So am I." Weiss said holding back her tears. "I Just…" Ruby began, "I just wish none of this had ever happened." "I know," Weiss said simply, "But it did happen and we need to deal with it." Ruby looked at Weiss with tears in her eyes, "How do you do it Weiss?" Ruby asked, "How do you manage all of this?" Weiss was silent for a long time, "Because I need to," she finally said solemnly, "I'm the only one who can right now." Ruby looked at her friend and hugged her, "Thank You." Ruby said, "Thank You." Finally Weiss's icy wall shattered and she collapsed into Ruby's arms crying.

**Roman**

Roman was almost happy when he'd heard the news. The little cunt know as Ruby Rose had woken up. Despite all the security taken to conceal this, Cinder had several agents within the hospital prior to the attack. Roman thought happily about this, "How is it I get to hurt Miss Rose now?" He asked himself, "Should I make her a cripple? Maybe scar her forever?" He said rubbing the still fresh scar above his left eyebrow. Despite his rage after leaving Cinder's office the other day, Roman by no means wanted his cane's exploding to kill Miss Rose. If anything he wanted her to live more than anybody else; though his reasons may have been _slightly_ different.

What shocked Roman most, was that she was up so fast. The last guy who Roman had detonated a cane on didn't wake up for almost 5 weeks and even then he was… less than able to function. That this Rose girl managed to wake up within 3 days was amazing, that she was already walking on her own was unbelievable. Roman had, everyday since then, been thinking of ways to hurt Ruby. He wanted to be careful and make a lasting mark seeing as this was, according to Cinder, their last operation against Ruby Rose and company… _ever_. Roman puzzled and thought about how he was going to handle her. Cinder was also making him find a way to deal with that stupid Faunus friend of hers at the same time! Roman sighed angrily, "The cat and her friend…" He said quietly, He needed to find someway to handle the two of them at the same time or Cinder would, in her own words, "_Burn Him". _Roman prayed that she wasn't speaking literally but ultimately decided it was better that he never find out.

Roman paced back and forth around his room and eventually decided to watch a movie to try and spur some thoughts. He eventually settled on The Darkest Knight. It was considered by many to be the greatest movie of the Darkest Knight trilogy. Roman watched for roughly an hour half-heartedly as he thought of any potential schemes. Suddenly a scene came up where the antagonist, know as the Jester, was holding a group of civilians hostage and forcing them to kill the other group to save themselves. (Somewhere in the world Christopher Nolan is twitching) Roman paused the film and smiled, "A catch-22…" Roman said slowly, "So damn simple… And Fucking PERFECT!" Roman screamed now laughing. Now Roman had an idea, and he just needed to set a few things in motion and it'd be ready. "Oh ho ho…" Roman said happily, "Miss Rose, you and your cat friend are gonna enjoy this." Roman said as he began to call a few people.

**Blake**

Blake had seen Ruby's and Weiss's entire screaming match from the end of the hall. She was saddened by the entire spectacle, and began to walk towards her friends. Ruby and Weiss had, by the time she arrived, regained their posture and were discussing what they should do next regarding Roman. "Hi Blake," Ruby said "We're just talking about… Everything I suppose." Blake smiled at that, "I see," She started, "And what do you each think we should do?" Ruby and Weiss looked to each other and shrugged. "We don't know," Weiss said.

The group thought in silence for a moment before turning to see Pyrrha exit Jaune's room with Velvet. "I will end Roman." Ruby suddenly said darkly. Blake was shocked by Ruby's sudden dark side. "Look at Pyrrha," She continued, "Look at the pain he creates… Imagine if he did that to one of us." Blake's spine chilled at the thought of one of her friends dying. Despite Blake's somewhat distant personality towards her friends, she loved them, they were the only thing she had left. "They were her family," Blake thought to herself, "And NOBODY would take that away from her." Ruby continued, "I won't let that happen." She said finally.

Weiss suddenly spoke, "Don't worry Ruby, We'll find him," She paused, putting a hand on both Blake's and Ruby's shoulders; "As a team." Blake chuckled and suddenly yelled, "Banzai!" Ruby and Weiss began to laugh and each yelled Banzai with her. Blake relaxed, knowing that everything would be alright. Suddenly he scroll started beeping, Yang was messaging her. "Come outside, I need to talk to you… Alone." It read. That was odd, Yang usually preferred to call her rather than text. For now she pushed the thoughts from her head and left Ruby and Weiss to find Yang. As she left, Blake thought about what Ruby had said about losing one of her friends. As Blake thought about it more, she suddenly found herself rushing to find Yang.

**Yang**

Yang finished typing the message and sighed, hoping that Ruby or Weiss wouldn't follow her. Yang had, since the attack, been a wreck. She'd barely eaten and hardly slept. Ever since Ruby had woken up, she'd been worried about how distant Ruby had become. Yang needed Blake now, more than before. As she waited for Blake, Yang's thoughts drifted. She thought of Beacon and Ozpin, Port and Oobleck, even Goodwitch.

But ultimately, her thoughts always faded back to Blake. Yang had always had a soft spot for the dark haired beauty. She thought of how many boys around school had hit on her and how many she had turned down. All because of her little kitty… It almost offended Yang when she went Sun to the dance instead of her! "Oh but it wouldn't be decent!" Yang said sarcastically, "Screw decency, look at Ruby and Weiss." Yang still held a grudge against Sun for the short peck Blake had given him on the ride to the dance. Yang held an even larger grudge against him for being the first person Blake saw when she woke up.

She pushed these thoughts aside as she saw Blake appear. "Hey Blake." Yang said happily. Blake walked quickly over to Yang and kissed her slowly before speaking, "I really needed that," Blake said happily, "Now what was so urgent?" For a moment, Yang was speechless. Regardless of how long they had been dating, Blake was never this open about their relationship in public. "It…" Yang struggled to find the words, "It's Ozpin… He… He wanted to see us both." "Lovely, Blake said happily, "Shall we be off?" Yang nodded slowly wondering what was making her partner so… Free.

**Ozpin**

It had never ceased to amaze Ozpin that no matter what he said, there were always some students who thought they could hide secrets from him. In this case it was actually both Miss Belladonna and Miss Xiao Long. Miss Belladonna had, even for Ozpin, been something of an Enigma for her first few months here. She had always been mysterious and it wasn't until a few weeks ago that he'd understood why. She was a Faunus. It had taken him months to figure that little bit of information out, and after he did he felt like a grand fool. He always chuckled when he saw her bow twitch. He of course knew other secrets about team RWBY, but before he could think further on the topic, Blake and Yang entered his hospital room.

"Hello Professor." They each said. "Hello Girls," he began, "Do you know why I've asked for you?" The girls shook their heads slowly. "I'll try to keep this brief then," Ozpin said walking slowly, "It is about your teammate." Ozpin said, "I fear that Miss Rose blames herself for Mr. Arc's… Condition." He said bluntly. Yang and Blake looked to each other before Blake spoke, "Yes sir she did, but Weiss just…" Ozpin stopped her, "Miss Belladonna, do you really think that Miss Rose feels no guilt regarding Mr. Arc despite what Miss Schnee may have said?" Blake thought for a moment and remained silent, "What I called the two of you down here for, is simply this." He paused as he sipped his tea, "Do not let her blame herself." Ozpin began to limp towards the two of them, his leg still in a cast, "Guilt can destroy a person, look at Miss Nikos. She has been consumed by her guilt for Mr. Arc and has shut down." Blake and Yang stood together now listening intently, "The fault lies in a single person," Ozpin said seriously, "HE is at fault for this!" Ozpin was now less than a foot from Blake and Yang, "I need you two to help Ruby stay ready, I fear that this is only the beginning of things." Ozpin returned to his bed and laid down as Yang and Blake began to leave. "Also ladies," Blake and Yang turned to face the professor, "What is indecent about a couple going to a dance together?" He said looking directly at Miss Belladonna whilst smiling. Blake's and Yang's eyes widened and they turned to each other. "That is all." Ozpin said stifling a chuckle. As the girls left, Ozpin laughed, "Nobody ever believes me at first…" Ozpin said to himself, "Always have to show how easy it is to find out."

_**The Following Morning**_

**Ruby**

Ruby was alone once more in the snowy woods, only this time she wasn't afraid. She walked slowly towards the tree line. As she approached it, she heard the familiar growl of an Ursa coming towards her. Ruby would not be afraid this time. She began to walk towards the beast and readied Crescent Rose. The Ursa burst forth from the tree line and dove towards Ruby. Ruby slid beneath the creature and fired several shots into its weak underbelly. The Ursa slowed as both it and Ruby turned to face each other once more. As the Ursa charged, Ruby fired Crescent Rose and accelerated her blade into the beast's neck. The Ursa fell backwards limp and bleeding as Ruby cleaned and reloaded Crescent Rose. Ruby turned to leave only to be face to face with a familiar face.

"Well Done." The figure said clapping, "You're much more handy than you appear." Ruby looked at the figure still trying to understand where she had seen his eyes before. "Thanks," Ruby said as she replaced Crescent Rose onto her back, "You still never told me who you are." The figure smiled, "I told you, I'm a protector." Ruby rolled her eyes, "Yes I know, But what's your name?" The figure's smile faltered slightly, "A name is nothing but a word, It has no meaning except what you put behind it." He began, "So I rejected mine, It doesn't matter what I am called, I am simply a protector nothing more." Ruby looked at her protector closely now, he'd changed since she'd last seen him. His short blonde hair had turned a dark red. "What happened to your hair?" She asked. The Protector's eyes darted upward briefly, "It changed…." He said sadly. "Why?" Ruby asked, his tone a moment ago worried her, "One day you'll understand…" He said distantly, "For now, I think I hear your voice being called." Suddenly the snow surrounded Ruby once more as she listened to a familiar voice call her name.

"Ruby Rose!" Roman called, "Care to play a little game?" He asked evilly. Ruby looked and saw Roman stood before her as well as Blake strapped into a chair in the room next to her. Ruby tried to move but was bound to her chair as well. "Well ladies," Roman said pulling out 2 large pistols. "I have a quick game I'd like to play." Ruby gulped at the last word terrified of what was about to happen. "And I think you two are just purrfect!" He said winking at Blake.

_What that is, you'll have to wait to find out. Better question, What is Yang gonna do? -Cardinal67_

**Author's Note: Thank you all for reading this chapter. I'm sorry I went back on my promise of an action filled chapter next but this chapter came more naturally and I could not transition to the following one smoothly so I seperated them. In any case I hope you enjoyed and I implore you to leave any suggestions or reviews you deem necessary. **

**P.S. In case I wasn't clear, Sun and Blake at the dance was just a cover since it "Wouldn't have been decent" for Blake and Yang to go together (Ruby and Weiss didn't care) And Sun being with Blake when she woke up was only because Yang was having a mental breakdown over Ruby's condition. #Bumblebee**

**P.S.S. I would also like to give attention to several addition stories currently being worked on by other authors that I feel are very well made. Please note that the authors did not ask me to include them and this is purely out of my personal belief that they deserve the mention. They are among the better RWBY stories I have read and deserve a look. Enjoy**

**- In the Name of the Queen: Author: Sirtoshi**

**-Massages: Author: H'te Rarpee**

**-Weiss Reacts: Author: ElfCollaborator**


	5. Of The End

Chapter 5: …Of The End

"**I guess that's just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you even have to give them up." -Lauren Oliver**

_**2 Hours Ago**_

**Yang**

It was a typical day for Yang as she made her way towards Emerald Forest for combat practice. The rest of her team was still sleeping, so Yang went with Ren, Nora, and a very quiet Pyrrha. The mismatched team made their way towards the center of the forest. Ren and Nora talked to Yang about various things, but Yang was distracted by Pyrrha. The once confident Amazonian hadn't spoken a word to any of them since they left Beacon and had spent most of her time quietly trailing the rest of them. "She still hasn't spoken to anybody besides Velvet since the ball." Ren told her the previous night. Yang had hoped, along with Ren, that this adventure into the forest might force Pyrrha to speak to her team. Unfortunately, there were no Grimm to be seen and Pyrrha remained silent.

They passed what looked to be the ruined entrance of a cave and Pyrrha stopped. "Pyrrha?" Yang and Ren asked. She ignored them as she moved closer to the entrance. She found herself next to a crude drawing of a Death Stalker and smiled slightly. "Pyrrha?" Yang asked once more, "What are you doing?" Pyrrha turned to face Yang, "Just… Thinking." She said sadly, the smile having disappeared from her face. Yang, Ren, and Nora looked to each other in shock. Pyrrha had spoken again! Their short surprise ended as Pyrrha began to walk along a devastated clearing alone. Yang whispered to Ren and Nora, "Why don't you two keep going, I'll stay with Pyrrha." Ren nodded and began to lead Nora away who said something about Sloths in the forest.

Yang turned to follow Pyrrha only to see that she'd already disappeared down the path alone. Yang ran to catch up to her, and wondered how it is she moved so quickly. Yang moved quickly and eventually caught sight of Pyrrha once more; Yang almost ran up beside her, but some force compelled her to stay hidden. She watched Pyrrha and suddenly recognized where they were, the temple from their first day. Yang watched as Pyrrha paced around the ruined structure. Pyrrha paused briefly in the temple, and Yang began to move closer. Suddenly Yang saw what had given Pyrrha pause, the cliff ruins from their first day. Yang remembered that fight, and watched as Pyrrha began to move slowly towards the cliffside.

Yang watched from a distance as Pyrrha stabbed Miló into the ground beside her andsat near the edge. Yang moved towards her silently until she saw Pyrrha stand up perfectly still and type something into her scroll. Yang was nervous and began to run towards Pyrrha. Pyrrha, completely unaware of Yang's presence, lowered her scroll and said something Yang couldn't hear. Yang ran as she saw Pyrrha relax and take a single step forward over the cliffside. "Pyrrha No!" She screamed.

**Pyrrha**

Pyrrha was by no means a weak person, but even she could not handle the constant sadness she felt. When Yang had invited her on her combat exercise, Pyrrha hoped that somehow it would help remove some of the guilt she felt, and readily accepted. But during their journey in the forest, Pyrrha saw the worried looks Yang had given her. Pyrrha desperately wanted to open up to her, if only to relax Yang, but she couldn't bring herself to. For most of the journey, she lagged behind her friends and wondered at the lack of Grimm.

Suddenly, they came upon that cave… She never forgot it, It was the cave where she and Jaune had first encountered the Death Stalker. Pyrrha smiled smugly inside, "Their First Date." She thought. She moved closer to the cave and eventually found the Death Stalker art on the side of it. She touched the crude drawing and thought of their first day here. "Pyrrha," Yang asked, "What are you doing?" Suddenly she was pulled back into reality and her smiled faded. "Just Thinking." She said sadly. "Her first words since the ball." Pyrrha thought. Pyrrha turned and began to walk down the path left by the Death Stalker all those months ago. Pyrrha just wanted to be alone to think.

It looked as though she had gotten her wish as she made her way down the improvised path. Pyrrha eventually came upon the Forest Temple, still eerily beautiful. Pyrrha moved towards the wrecked structure and thought of that day; So much joy had been in her that day, and now… She turned and paused watching the cliffside. She was pulled towards it by some unseen force. As she walked, she thought of Jaune. If not for his strategy, she didn't know how badly the Death Stalker could have hurt them before they took it down.

Suddenly she was here, time had wiped their battle from this place but she still remembered how hard it had been. "If not for Jaune's leadership that day, who knows what might have happened." She thought. But he was gone… Pyrrha planted Miló into the ground and Akoúo̱ beside it and sat down. Tears formed at Pyrrha's eyes as she thought about what had happened since that first day. Nora hadn't changed, not too much, but Ren… He had become colder than Weiss had been those first few weeks. Jaune had…

"Jaune…" Pyrrha said sadly. He was in a coma, "BECAUSE OF YOU!" The voice screamed. "Everything that's happened to Jaune is YOUR FAULT!" Finally, Pyrrha's brilliant green eyes flooded with tears. Pyrrha tried to wipe the tears and push the guilt down, "You can't just push this down anymore! You did this, ACCEPT IT!" The voices continued. Pyrrha opened her eyes slowly, "I know." she said quietly. She looked down the canyon and an idea came to mind. Pyrrha rose, tears still filling her eyes. "Maybe it's better this way." Pyrrha thought. The voice in her head spoke once more, "You have the chance to end this now!" It screamed, "Think of how much more pain Jaune will be forced to endure for you if you don't!"

Pyrrha made her decision and readied herself. She opened her scroll and sent one last message to Ren, Jaune, Nora, and Ozpin. It was a single word, "Goodbye." Pyrrha pressed send and took a final breath. She looked one last time at the canyon surrounding her, "So beautiful." She said finally. She closed her eyes, and felt her body relax. She took one final step forward and Pyrrha smiled as she felt the world pass by her.

**Jaune**

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* Those were the first noises Jaune heard as he snapped back into consciousness. Jaune rose rapidly. He didn't know where he was or how he'd gotten there, all he knew was that something was wrong. Jaune's Aura burned within him now and he was racking his brain as to why. Jaune saw his scroll on the side of the table beeping and reached for it. "You have One New Message." The electronic voice said. He opened it and what he saw terrified him. "Goodbye" from Pyrrha Nikos. Nothing but a goodbye, not even a reason why. The room was silent for a moment, and Jaune understood why his Aura burned within him, Pyrrha was in trouble. Suddenly a woman rushed into the room, "Sir are you alright!?" She asked. Jaune saw her hospital uniform and was silent for a moment, "How long have I been here?" he asked.

**Yang**

Yang watched in horror as she saw the beautiful Amazonian fall to what would be her death. Yang would not let that happen. Yang grabbed Miló and dove after Pyrrha. Yang was just able to catch up to the Amazonian and grabbed her tightly. Pyrrha, broken from her trance, looked at Yang in horror and she spoke, "Let me go!" Pyrrha begged. Yang ignored her and fired Ember Celica in an attempt to slow herself and Pyrrha before reaching the canyon's bottom. As she was doing this, she pulled firmly on Pyrrha and slammed Miló into the side of the cliff, slowing them down further. Yang felt her muscle pull but refused to let go. They duo crashed into the cliff's bottom, but thankfully Yang's rapid action had slowed them down enough.

**Pyrrha**

Yang rose first, her eyes a brilliant red. "What the FUCK!" Pyrrha felt a wave of heat come off of her, "WAS THAT!" Yang screamed. Pyrrha looked at Yang sadly, "An escape." Yang looked at Pyrrha angrily, "AN ESCAPE!" She snarled, "AN ESCAPE FROM WHAT?!" Yang demanded. Pyrrha looked at Yang with tears in her eyes, "Everything." Yang's temper cooled for a moment. "What?" she asked, suddenly feeling guilty, "I couldn't take it anymore." Pyrrha said refusing to make eye contact, "I couldn't take it knowing Jaune's…" Pyrrha choked on the words, "Jaune's asleep now because of me." She finally forced herself to say.

The tears streamed down her soft skin. "Pyrrha," Yang said in a comforting tone, her rage subsided, "This isn't your fault." Pyrrha shook her head as tears ran down her cheeks, "Yes it is," She said sniveling, "I went out to protect Velvet and if I hadn't done that…" "Then Velvet would be dead." Yang said coldly. Pyrrha cried even harder. "Pyrrha, even if this were your fault, Do you think this is what Jaune would have wanted you to do?" Pyrrha couldn't speak, "Or think of your team, Do you think Nora could handle losing you?" Pyrrha looked down at her feet, "I don't know," She said desperately, "I just can't take it anymore." Yang limped towards Pyrrha and hugged her. Pyrrha heard a faint beep come from Yang's scroll and Yang smiled, "You don't need to, come on."

**Ozpin**

"He had received the message from Miss Nikos?" Ozpin thought curiously. Ozpin was currently in the Vale hospital for hopefully his last checkup before his leg cast was removed. He was limping down the hall near Jaune's room when he received it. Ozpin opened the message, His eyes widened in fear. "Dust Help Me." Ozpin said once he finished reading the short message. Ozpin, even in his weakened state, moved quickly. He called Professors Port and Goodwitch immediately. "Peter, Glynda, Listen carefully." "Whatever is the problem?" Port asked heartily, "Find Miss Nikos NOW." He ordered loudly. Port was taken aback by this slightly; Ozpin never raised his tone, least of all to another professor unless it was urgent. "Yes Professor." Port said disconnecting himself from the call, "Glynda, contact Miss Nikos team quickly, I fear something terrible may have happened." Professor Goodwitch nodded, "Of course." She said already calling them. Suddenly Ozpin heard a violent thrashing from the end of the hall. "Dust please don't let it be so…" Ozpin prayed quietly. Ozpin slowly approached the source of the noise. It was as he had feared, Mr. Arc had awoken. Normally Ozpin would have been pleased, but the exact timing that he had awoken was no coincidence which terrified Ozpin further.

He entered the room just as the nurse excused herself. "Two weeks." Jaune said darkly looking towards the floor. "I've been asleep for almost two weeks." Ozpin frowned, "Yes." Jaune turned his head, "Professor, I'm sorry. I didn't see you enter." Ozpin faced Jaune solemnly, "It's alright Mr. Arc, I imagine you have a lot on your mind at present." Jaune sat silently for almost a minute. "Where's Pyrrha?" He asked darkly, "If Roman hurt her…" Ozpin stopped him there, "Mr Torchwick did not injure Miss Nikos…" He said, "However she still may be in danger." Jaune's ears perked up, "You see Mr. Arc," Ozpin said, "Your awakening now is no coincidence." Jaune stared into space, "I assume you've read the message." Ozpin said.

Jaune nodded slowly. "Then you know why I am worried. You see Mr. Arc," Ozpin faced Jaune directly, "You and Miss Nikos are bonded together." Jaune looked puzzled, "How so?" He asked. "It is likely a result of Miss Nikos unlocking your Aura earlier this year." Ozpin paused, "You see the effects of Aura are far from certain, but when Miss Nikos unlocked your Aura, she created some kind of bond between you two." Jaune spoke slowly, "The burning…" Ozpin nodded, "Precisely, Miss Nikos is or was in some form of danger, and your Aura bond with her combined with your Unique Aura levels..." Jaune nodded, "I see..." Jaune said evenly, "But how do you know she's in danger?" Ozpin was silent for almost a minute, "Mr. Arc, the coma you were in… You shouldn't have awoken from." Ozpin said seriously, "The only way the bond could possibly have been strong enough to awaken you is for Miss Nikos to be near-death or fatally injured."

Jaune began to rise, "Then we have to find her!" Ozpin pushed him back onto the bed. "Mr. Arc, the damage done to you was incredibly severe, I'm afraid you aren't ready to run let alone fight." Suddenly, Ozpin's personal scroll went off, _Nikos with Miss Xiao Long -Goodwitch,_ It read. Ozpin smiled, "However," Ozpin took a picture of Jaune using the Scroll, "I don't think you'll need to." Ozpin pressed send. "Perhaps everything will be fine today." Ozpin thought to himself. In the distance, an explosion was heard.

**Yang**

Even this deep into the Emerald Forest, Yang could hear the explosion. Yang was leading Pyrrha back towards the academy when she heard it. Yang's thoughts immediately turned to one person, "Roman." She said viciously. Yang's eyes began to turn a dark crimson shade as she ran towards the forest's edge. Suddenly she saw it, a massive fireball had enveloped the upper most end of the South-East tower. Right where Teams RWBY and JNPR slept… Yang felt a rage burn in her hotter than the flames she saw, and dashed towards the rapidly growing inferno.

Yang entered the burning building quickly and made her way towards her Team's room. Burning beams and other debris blocked her way but Yang shattered anything that stood between her and her friends. Yang finally found their hall, and to their dorm carefully, taking care not to be burnt by the raging inferno surrounding her. Yang kicked the door in fiercely and called out to her team, "Ruby, Blake, Weiss!" Yang looked around quickly for anything to indicate they were safe. Yang saw Crescent Rose knocked to the floor, and Blake's books tossed to the ground. Yang knew this was no accident then, Ruby would never abandon her beloved weapon nor would Blake ever abandon a book.

Suddenly Yang heard a weak call for help. "Yang…" Weiss called weakly. "Weiss!" Yang screamed, "It's okay let me help you up." Yang moved to her, Weiss was not in good shape. Whatever caused the fire had gone off almost right beside Weiss, she was breathing weakly and had blood strewn across her face. "C'mon!" Yang yelled as she picked up Weiss. Yang heard Weiss scream at her very touch. Yang began to move, "Wait." Yang heard Weiss call weakly, "Weiss we…" Weiss grabbed something from the burning room, "Go." She said finally. Yang bolted from the room just as the final beam supporting it collapsed.

Yang ran from the tower as the inferno weakened the last of the supports. Weiss watched as the tower began to collapse behind them and passed out. Yang exited the tower and heard the loud sirens of paramedics coming their way. Yang collapsed to her knees and looked at Weiss. She wasn't breathing. "No." Yang said with steel in her tone, "Not again." Yang began to perform CPR on Weiss, "C'mon Weiss." Yang began to beg, "C'mon!" Yang tried for what felt like an eternity to revive Weiss, but to no avail. Yang looked down at her fallen friend, "No!" Yang screamed. Yang beat on Weiss's chest even faster, "I'm not losing you too!" Yang screamed as tears filled her eye's. Yang worked for another minute before she finally felt a pulse. "Thank Dust." Yang said collapsing beside her friend.

Yang watched as the tower finally collapsed, and turned to Weiss. "What was it she'd grabbed?" she thought. Yang moved Weiss's hands and saw a small wooden box held tightly against her chest. Yang grabbed the box and opened it, there was only one item inside. A picture of Team RWBY together taken recently. There they were, an average day for Team RWBY. Ruby biting into a cookie, Yang trying to cover her bedraggled face, Blake reading one of her "saucy" books as she called them, and Weiss in the corner of the shot holding the camera. Yang looked to Weiss, "Of all the things within their room, this is what Weiss values above all else." Yang thought sadly.

Tear's formed in Yang's lilac eyes only for Pyrrha to appear beside her. "Don't, we have other business it seems." She said pointing to Yang's cracked scroll on her wrist. "You have One New Message." The electronic voice said. Yang opened the message and both her's and Pyrrha's blood boiled. "A party invitation from Roman Torchwick, 3192 Port Avenue…" Yang said slowly. Pyrrha began to move quickly. "C'mon," She said with an unnatural anger to her tone, "I have something to give Roman." She said flashing Miló. Yang watched as Weiss was moved to the infirmary, "Yeah," She said reloading Ember Celica, "Me too." Roman had no idea the storm he had created within these girls as they left the burning ruin that was Beacon Academy.

_**Present Time**_

**Ruby**

Ruby sat terrified as she tried to escape the chair she was currently strapped to. She heard Roman whistling lightly as he passed the two of them. "Well ladies," Roman said, "Before I explain the rules of this game here, how about a quick movie instead?" Roman asked. Roman hit a button, and suddenly a large TV screen on the wall turned on. It looked like somebody was flying. Ruby and Blake watched in confusion for a moment until the camera finally shifted. There was Beacon, and approaching it were Roman Torchwick and his associates. Whatever they were flying appeared to be cloaked as they slipped into Beacon's airspace undetected.

Suddenly the camera shifted to Roman as they hovered outside one of the large towers that made up Beacon's dorms. Ruby saw herself, Weiss, and Blake through the window asleep. "Aww would you look at that, they're sleeping." Roman said sarcastically on the film. Roman signaled his men who began to place something on the tower's supports. "Well," The film Roman said, "I guess we'd better wake them." Roman raised his cane and fired some kind of gas bomb into their room through the window. Blake was the fastest to react, and she dove onto the ground almost immediately after the gas entered their room. But it was too late even then, the gas grenade detonated and released something which almost immediately paralyzed Blake as well as the currently rising Weiss. Ruby saw that she hadn't even awoken.

Roman suddenly entered their room and began to poke around their room. "Aww look, bunk beds!" Roman said, "I've always wanted one of these." He paced around their room slowly and eventually reached Blake's books. "Ninja's of Love…" Roman said slowly but amused, "Never figured you for the type kitty." Blake, even paralyzed, managed to glare at Roman from the floor. Roman continued to look around Blake's books before finding a pile of letters hidden away within the binding of one of the books. Roman read them slowly and began to chuckle, "Really Miss Belladonna?" Blake's glare darkened as Roman set them down once more and neared Weiss. "Ahh Miss Schnee." Roman said, "You're very lucky Miss Schnee, Normally I'd take you with your friends but you are simply too famous. So you get to stay here." He said patting Weiss's head. Weiss glared and Roman smiled, "Load 'em up!" Roman commanded, "And get those charges set fast."

Roman's men picked up the still sleeping Ruby and paralyzed Blake. Roman's camera showed Weiss slowly crawling towards Roman. "You have an especially efficient immune system it seems," Roman said mockingly, "Too bad it won't help much longer." Roman grabbed one of the charges from his men and placed it in Weiss's hands, "Hold this for me, won't you love?" Weiss resisted as much as her weakened state would allow, "Atta girl." Roman said when Weiss finally gave up. "Now then, Let us be off." Roman boarded his ship once more just as his men finished placing the last charges. "Oh and Miss Schnee," Weiss looked at Roman angrily, "You may want to move." Roman laughed as he saw Weiss squirm slowly away from the mysterious canister.

"Oh I think this is my favorite part." The actual Roman said heartily, "In Three, Two, One…" Suddenly Ruby and Blake watched as the entire tower burst into flames. "Heat and Ice..." Roman said, "Not a good combination." Blake and Ruby looked to each other in horror, "Had Roman killed Weiss?" They each asked themselves. "And that's not all…" Roman said teasing the two girls. The film jumped and showed Yang running from the collapsing structure holding a motionless Weiss. Blake and Ruby felt chills run down their spines. "Ahh this is a thing of beauty." he said, having the camera show the tower finally collapse. "Truly innovative cinematography" Roman ended the film just as he sent Yang the "Invitation". "So….." Roman said, "I expect Miss Xiao Long will arrive here within the next…" He looked at his watch, "10 minutes or so." He smiled at Blake and Ruby, "And what kind of host would I be if I didn't have something planned for her to see when she arrives." Blake mumbled something behind the gag over her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Let me just…" He removed the gag, "You were saying?" Blake spit on his face, "I said that no matter what you do, Yang and Weiss will end you." Roman's smile disappeared as he wiped the spit from his face. "Brave girl." He said, "But _very_ stupid." He smashed his cane across Blake's temple knocking her to the ground. "BLAKE!" Ruby screamed muffled by her own gag.

"Now then," Roman said, "If everyone would stop being so RUDE!" He glared at Blake, "We can get started." Roman one again pulled out the large pistols, "Very powerful… But not very personal." He set the weapons down, and pulled out 2 Katanas from a box in the room's corner. "Purrfect." He said looking at Blake. "This seems like your style Miss Belladonna." He looked over to Ruby. "This is going to be very interesting." Ruby cocked her eyebrow at Roman and he moved towards her. "Use your words child," Roman said, undoing the gag. "What's gonna be interesting?" Ruby asked suspiciously. Roman flashed an evil grin. "Let me show you."

Roman walked back towards the case containing the Katanas and placed them on the ground near Ruby and Blake. "Careful now ladies," He said sarcastically, "Wouldn't want to hurt yourselves." Roman exited their prison from a door on the far side of the room, and Ruby's and Blake's locks were disarmed. Ruby immediately ran over to Blake who was hunched over on her side holding her face. "Blake!" Ruby said, "Is it bad?" Blake shook her head, "No, but what does Roman have planned, and why…" Blake said holding up a Katana, "Would he leave us these?" Roman smirked as he listened. He turned his head to another screen and saw a very angry Yang Xiao Long beating on the door with an equally angry Pyrrha Nikos.

**Yang**

Yang was going to find Roman and break his neck. Roman had taken away the two things from her that mattered most; Ruby and Blake. Yang didn't care what happened to her, she was going to find Roman and beat him until he told her where the were. As it turned out, finding him proved to be very easy. Yang had made a beeline with Pyrrha towards the address in Vale the moment they could. Yang fully expected the building to be a trap or a dud, but the moment she entered, she knew she was in the right building.

She walked no more than 5 feet before she heard Roman's shrill voice over the speakers. "Why hello there Miss Xiao Long, I see you've brought a friend!" Roman taunted, "I don't remember saying you could, but for you I'll make an exception." Yang spoke calmly, "Where are Ruby and Blake?" Roman cackled, "All in good time my dear, all in good time." A door opened at the end of the hall, "For now, please come in." Yang looked to Pyrrha who shrugged and moved towards the door.

**Ruby**

"Well ladies!" Roman yelled over the intercom, "It seems the guest of honor has arrived! Let us begin." Ruby looked around for the speaker, intending to smash it along with Roman whenever she got the chance. "Please stand ladies and take the Katanas." Roman said. Neither Blake nor Ruby moved, "I must insist that you move," Roman said angrily now sending an electrical shock around the room. Blake and Ruby jumped at the sudden shock and grabbed the weapons. They moved slowly towards their designated areas. "Thank you." He said, "Now raise your weapons to each other..." Ruby stopped, "No!" Ruby could hear the irritation in his voice. "Miss Rose, you and Miss Belladonna will fight each other…" Blake spoke now, "No we won't!" Roman was becoming irritated and suddenly the TV screen flashed to life once more. On it were Pyrrha and Yang, "If you two do not fight, I will kill Miss Nikos." Roman said angrily, "If you continue to resist, I will kill Miss Xiao Long." Ruby's legs suddenly felt very weak. "If you manage to resist beyond that... Let's just say Miss Schnee may suffer an _accident_." Ruby's heart dropped.

"Blake…" Ruby began to say. Blake looked at Ruby and raised the katana, her hand trembling. "Oh ho ho!" Roman said delightedly, "Miss Belladonna gets it!" Ruby looked at her friend, "Blake I won't fight you." Tears began to stream from Blake's amber eyes. "I wonder if Miss Xiao Long can continue to love the person who kills her sister?" Roman thought aloud. Ruby and Blake paused at that. "Love…?" Ruby asked Blake. All Blake could do was nod. Ruby was silent for almost a minute, "Do it then Blake." Ruby said dropping her weapon, defeated, "I won't fight you and Yang needs you." Tears continued to fall from Blake's silent face. "It's okay Blake," Ruby said sadly, "It's okay." Blake wiped her tears away and began to raise the katana. "It's okay." She said one last time to her friend. "I'm sorry…" Blake said to Ruby finally.

**Yang**

Yang was watching the entire episode, trying to bust through the wall separating them from herself and Pyrrha. The wall was too thick! And Roman sat hidden away watching as he tortured them both. Pyrrha was trying to find some sort of override to open the doors to Blake's and Ruby's prison. Suddenly she heard it. "Love…?" Ruby said. Yang's ears perked up at that, and she watched the screen as Blake nodded. "Do it then Blake." was the next thing Ruby said. Yang's eyes began to burn a bright crimson. "Enjoying the show?" Roman said over the intercom.

Yang shattered the speaker as well as the wall behind it in a surge of pure rage. Pyrrha watched terrified as Yang began to destroy the entire complex trying to find Roman. "ROMAN!" Yang screamed. She heard running from the end of the hall. "There you are." Yang screamed as she took off after him. Yang eventually cornered him in a room overlooking Blake and Ruby. Her eyes burned, she would _end_ him! "Ahh Miss Xiao Long." He said, "You're about to see the end of my little game." He said motioning towards her two teammates. Yang looked, the windowed room they were in was nestled roughly 20 feet above Ruby and watched transfixed by the "show" Roman had organized. She suddenly saw Blake raise the katana. "You can't save them," Roman said maniacally, "Even if you kill me, we wont let them go." Yang's eyes widened and she did the only thing she could think to do. She might not be rid of them forever, but she was NOT losing her sister or her girlfriend! She dove through the window towards her friends screaming, "BLAKE!"

**Blake**

Blake raised the katana and the world suddenly slowed down. Blake thought of everything her team had done for her and all that had happened since she had met them; Meeting Yang in the forest, the forming of teams, their finding out she was a Faunus, Yang's and her's relationship. Then Blake looked at Ruby. Tears fell down her pale face as he looked at her, the most innocent girl in the world, she was willing to let herself be killed so her friends would be safe.

Blake's tears continued to fall as she realized what she needed to do; Roman would never stop until either she or Ruby was dead… Blake wouldn't hurt Ruby, and Ruby couldn't hurt Blake. As she heard Yang's screams, she did what she needed to do. She closed her eyes and let the blade fall.

The pain was unlike anything she had ever experienced before and her body burned. When she opened her eyes again, the katana had passed completely through her. Blake fell to her knees and felt a final feeling of euphoria pass over her body slowly. Yang was beside her within seconds, "BLAKE!" She screamed, tears streaming from her lavender eyes. "It's gonna be okay Blake!" Yang yelled, "We can fix this!" Blake looked to her partner and smiled, "It's okay Yang," Blake said weakly, "It's okay." Ruby was beside her now, "Why Blake?" She asked crying, "Why?" Blake looked to the girl in red. "Roman wouldn't let us go until one of us was dead." Blake said coughing, "I wouldn't let it be you."

Ruby collapsed into tears as Yang tried to comfort her, "Save your strength Blakey," Yang said trying to remain composed, "You'll need it soon." Yang removed the blade from Blake's chest and laid her down on her back, holding her tightly. Blake looked at Yang, "No, I won't." she said sadly as tears formed in her Amber eyes. Blake pulled Yang close to her and kissed her, "I needed to do that one last time." Blake said weakly. Yang stared at her searching for the words, "There'll be plenty of time for that once you're better." Yang said desperately. Blake looked at Yang a final time shaking her head, "I'm sorry Yang," Blake said weeping, "There won't." Blake closed her eyes as she fell into what she knew would be her final rest. "Goodbye Yang." She said quietly. Yang held Blake in her arms and felt her body go limp. "Blake..." Yang said one last time. Yang saw a single tear fall from Blake's eyes, "Don't Go..."

**Pyrrha**

Pyrrha watched Blake's final moments, and knew only one thing. "Roman Torchwick is a dead man." she said. Pyrrha knew the Roman would never miss watching his moment of glory, so she followed Yang's path of destruction to Roman's observation deck. Pyrrha was right, and she saw him gloating before the ruined window. He laughed as he watched Blake bid farewell to her closest friends. "Well," He said not realizing Pyrrha was there, "Time to finish those two off."

He reached for the electrical switch only to hear Akoúo̱ smash into the box and narrowly avoid cutting off his fingers. He turned in surprise, "Ahh Miss Nikos, How lovely for you to join us." Roman said victoriously, "Did you enjoy the show?" Pyrrha walked towards Roman slowly. Roman suddenly felt very nervous as he watched Pyrrha approach him. Pyrrha was less than a foot away from Roman when she stopped. Roman didn't know when to stop talking, "What's wrong Miss Nikos, did you not enjoy the show?" He asked sarcastically, Pyrrha's grip on Miló tightened. "I personally thought the death scene was very believable, How about you?" Pyrrha moved forward. Roman backed up until he was almost at the edge of the shattered window.

Roman, not one to be intimidated, continued to bait Pyrrha. "How do you think your boyfriend would have enjoyed it?" He said, "I think…" Roman would never finish that sentence. He felt a sudden pain in his stomach and looked down at his abdomen. Pyrrha had impaled Roman with Miló. Pyrrha spoke slowly to Roman, "This is for everybody who you've hurt. "For Yang," She turned the spear in his chest, "For Ruby," She plunged it deeper into Roman, "For Jaune," Roman stared at Pyrrha in pain, "And For Blake." She pulled Miló from his chest and Roman fell forward onto his knees. "Please…" He said, blood already filling his lungs, "Have Mercy…" Pyrrha looked at him one last time, "Dust help you." Pyrrha kicked Roman square in the chest. He fell backwards through the shattered window, his screams filling the room for only a moment.

**Author's Note: Thank you all for reading. There's likely going to be a small break between this chapter and the next chapter as I consider what direction to take the story. Also sorry for the early upload, Easter destroyed my schedule so I had to put this here now or not at all. Hope y'all understand.**

**P.S. This is what I consider the end of Act I of RWBY: Vengeance in any case so I have no idea what will happen in Act II. Please leave any reviews of the story you feel are relevant, and privately message me if you have anything you wish to tell me to help spur ideas. In any case, I hope you enjoyed, please leave a review, and have a great day.**

**P.S.S. No 9 Lives, I'm just gonna make that clear now.**


	6. Movie Night (Act I Intermission)

_**Author's Note: **_**Just a quick story idea I had to break up the tension. Trust me, between Chapter's 5 and 6, you'll want some comic relief and romance. Normal chapter should be out later today or tomorrow. **

_**October 1st, 8:07 P.M.**_

"_Something's Fucked," He thought to himself, "Something Is Fucked!" _He keyed his ear piece, "Is anyone there?!" Nothing but static. _"Shit Shit Shit!" He thought panicking. "Why did mine have to be the broken one!?" _He looked around the mountainside, _"They wouldn't be late unless something went wrong!"_ He looked around, _"Where the fuck's the car!" He could feel a cold sweat coming down his brow. "If they get caught, I'm going down too. They'll rat me out within a minute, FUCK!" _He rushed back to his post, and began to prepare his rifle. It was a high powered, M40 sniper rifle with armor piercing rounds. The second he fired at something, it was either gonna go down or take off running. _"I am NOT going down without a fight." He thought suddenly very angry, "Those fuckers will sell me out if I run, so I guess I better make damn sure before I do."_ As he thought this, he heard gunfire coming from the southern road just below him. "There they are." He said. He looked down the sight and saw something that surprised him, "Is that a fucking ambulance?!" He prepared his shot taking aim at the ambulance's wheels. He was about to fire when he saw them, "Why the fuck Michael driving an Ambulance! And where the hell are Gavin and Geoff!" Ray said unloading a round into the police cruiser behind them.

**That's right Lads and Gents, Achievement Hunter Heist Time!**

_**September 28th, 6:27 P.M.**_

**Michael**

"_Where the fuck is Gavin?" _Michael thought angrily, _"He's had all day to get here!" _Michael paced in front of the building, waiting for his childhood friend to arrive. Ray was late too but that was different, Ray called him and told im he'd be there later. _"That dumb British bastard, How long does it fucking take to get here?" _As Michael asked himself this, a yellow Taxi pulled up before the restaurant. Ray exited the vehicle, "Thanks man, keep the change." He said to the driver. "Michael!" Ray yelled, "How the hell have you been?" Michael smiled, Ray's positive attitude was contagious. "Pretty good man, just been looking forward to meeting up again." Ray smiled, and scanned the surrounding area, "Where's Gavin?" He asked. Michael sighed, "Gavin's…"

"Right Here Motherfuckers!" Gavin screamed approaching the group from behind. Michael turned, "Where the hell have you been?!" Michael demanded. Gavin ignored the anger in his tone, "I've been in there," He said pointing towards a tailor's shop, "Waiting for Ray to show up." Ray spoke next, "Why were you in a tailor's?" Gavin smiled, "I'll get to that in a sec, For now…" He began to approach the restaurant, "Let's Eat!" Ray looked to Michael and shrugged, following Gavin inside. Michael followed soon after and found Gavin and Ray sat in the VIP section. He walked over to them, "How did you manage to get here?" He asked dumbstruck. Gavin flashed a grin, "I know a few guys here. For now let's have ourselves a nice meal."

Michael sat down and for about an hour, the trio caught up on what had happened since they had last met, and enjoyed the fantastic food. "I'm actually married now." Michael said. "Piss off, Who?" Gavin asked. "Lindsay, you remember her from…" Michael slowed down and lowered his voice, "From the Trinity job." Gavin nodded, ignoring Michael's change in tone. "Nice job," Ray said, "How long's it been." "About 7 months now, We were engaged for a year before that." Gavin and Ray each flashed a thumbs up, "Nice Job." Ray said. "Waiter? Can we get a bottle of Champagne for my friend here?" Gavin asked.

Another couple of minutes passed before Gavin spoke. "So about that Tailor…" Gavin said looking suddenly uncomfortable. "Yeah what about it?" Ray asked. "Well, I have another job lined up…" Ray and Michael both froze at that. The group was silent for a moment before Ray spoke, "What's the pay?" Gavin sipped at his glass, "14% of whatever we grab, and the target is… Is 40 Million." Michael spoke next, "How many guys?" Gavin looked uncomfortable, "3 Others, Call Themselves the Gents. Plus whoever I can get for this." Ray and Michael looked at each other, "I'm in." Ray said. "I don't think so, Lindsay…" Michael began, "Lindsay's onboard for this." Gavin interrupted. "How do you…" Michael asked, _"Did this cocksucker go behind my back to my Wife!?" He thought angrily. _Gavin looked at Michael nervously, "Who do you think found those guys?" Michael stared at Gavin, "She didn't mention the wedding," Gavin said sadly, "Cheers mate!" He said downing the entire glass of champagne.

"Anyway, one of their guys contacted her about the job and she called me. She mentioned 6 guys minimum and 40 Million bucks." The group sat silently considering the job. "Alright, I'm In." Michael said finally. Gavin's smile returned, "That absolutely top!" He said, handing them each a letter, "Here's the details, Call me with any questions." Gavin stood and began to leave. "I'll settle the bill." And with that Gavin walked off, leaving Ray and Michael together. "Something's up with this, I can feel it," Ray said, "Have you heard of these guys before, the… Gents he said?" Michael shook his head, "No, but if Lindsay and Gavin trust 'em, I guess we should too." Michael said. Michael left Ray, and called for a cab. As he rode home, he only wondered one thing, _"Why the hell didn't Lindsay mention this to him?"_

_**September 30th, 5:29 P.M.**_

**Gavin**

Gavin was reasonably nervous, he hadn't heard from Michael or Ray since their reunion 2 nights before. Gavin was the first to arrive, and he desperately wished that either Michael or Ray would show up soon. _"Please god let them both come!" Gavin begged._ Suddenly the warehouse door opened, and Gavin was greeted by what he assumed were two of the Gents. "You sure he should be a part of this, He can be fucking terrifying sometimes." The one with the beard said. "It'll be fine, Ryan knows not to fuck shit like this up." The man with the glamorous mustache said. Gavin moved closer to the duo, "Hey." They each turned to him and analyzed him carefully. The one with the large beard extended his hand, "Afternoon, the name's Jack." Gavin shook his hand. "And I'm Geoff." The other said. Gavin shook Geoff's hand and asked, "You mentioned someone called Ryan?" Geoff paused, "He's… on his way, Where's your crew?"

Gavin shifted uncomfortably, "They're on their way too." _"I Hope."_ Just then, Michael entered with Lindsay and Ray. "Gavin!" Ray said, "Finally, someone who'll agree with me!" Gavin turned, "What's up?" Ray pointed at Lindsay and Michael, "These fuckers say that Cake is better than Pie." Jack and Geoff laughed. "That's bullshit!" Gavin yelled, "The only good cake is chocolate. All pie is good!" Ray flicked off Michael, "I Fucking TOLD YOU!" Michael rolled his eyes as the doors opened again. "Ryan!" Jack yelled, "Get over here you fat bastard!" Ryan walked over slowly, "It's not fat, It's baby weight." Ryan said jokingly. Jack laughed, "Of course it is, how is little Edgar?" Ryan was about to speak before Geoff cut him off, "Alright, now that everybody's here, Let's begin."

**Geoff**

Geoff drew a rough estimate of the bank on a whiteboard and began to speak. He went on about security specifics for a bit; Security Size, response time, Ect... "Michael and Gavin," He said, "The three of us are gonna rob the place." He paused to make sure they both were listening, "Me and Gavin will do crowd control while Michael blows the vault." He directed attention to a few photos of the outside, "Right here, Ryan's gonna be waiting to pick us up and drive us out while Jack…" He moved to the other side of the drawing, "Is gonna drive away with the money. It's very important that we draw attention away from Jack cause he's gonna be on his own." He picked up a picture of the police station. "We're gonna need to move fast, the station is only a few minutes away from the bank, and those charges are loud!" He erased the bank drawing. "As the four of us are driving, Jack I need you to move as fast as you can to…" He pointed to a large cliff top. "Here, That's where we're gonna meet up." Jack nodded. "We will be coming from the south along a different route and should arrive just before 8:00 P.M. tonight. As we are doing this, police will likely be following us. Ray is gonna be covering us from the mountain as we converge on the location." Geoff took a short break to ensure the group was listening.

"Now this is the tricky part, Making ourselves and the money disappear." Geoff smiled, "It's simple, we fly out." The entire room, with the exception of Lindsay, raised their eyebrows. "You see, I had an associate of mine procure a helicopter a short while ago which would be perfect for this." He drew a diagram of the hill, "Lindsay over her knows how to fly, so she'll be manning the chopper. She and Jack will load up the money as we arrive; And assuming Ray can handle the cops following us, we'll all take off inside and make a smooth exit." Michael raised his hand, "Why's she flying? I can fly just fine." Geoff sighed, "Because you know explosives and we need that for the Vault. Now if you'll stop bitching, May I continue?" Michael scowled to Geoff and Lindsay muttering, "Fuckin Horseshit."

Geoff walked over to several boxes, "Here is the equipment we'll be using." He held up several earpieces and masks. "The earpieces are so everybody knows each other's statuses, and the masks are self explanatory." He then held up a larger, thinner box. "This one is for Ray." Ray walked towards Geoff as everybody grabbed their gear. "It's a customized sniper rifle. M40, lightweight parts, customized AP rounds. All ordered and assembled separately; untraceable to you, me, or anybody." Ray nodded with approval as he grabbed the last of his supplies from the table." "God dammit." Ray said suddenly, "Why do I get the glitchy earpiece?" Geoff ignored him, "Alright people, We meet back here tomorrow at 6 P.M. sharp to begin. Ray, you and Lindsay come at 1 so I can get you into position." Geoff paused, "Bring something with you to eat too, It could be awhile before we get there." Ray nodded. "Alright everyone know what they're doing?" The room nodded, "Good, then I'll see you all tomorrow."

**October 1st, 6:00 P.M.**

**Michael**

Michael was nervous. This was by far the biggest job he'd pulled, and he still wasn't sure if he trusted Geoff and his crew. What worried Michael even more, was that Ray was missing. He and Ray had always been a team. Gavin had always been a part of their team but he was so damn reckless that he didn't have the same trust put in him. _"It doesn't fuckng matter now." Michael thought angrily, "Gavin, is the only one I can trust here."_ Michael shook his head in worry as he saw Gavin approach. Michael never understood how it was the Gavin, even in times of crisis, always was in an irritatingly good mood. "Hey Michael." Gavin said happily, "You Ready?" Michael looked at his watch, 6:00 P.M., He looked at Gavin, "Let's hope so." Suddenly they heard Geoff call from the truck, "Let's go kiddies!" Michael looked at Gavin nervously. Gavin flashed a smile, "C'mon Michael, everything'll be fine."

**20 Minutes Later**

"Alright, there it is." Geoff said seriously, "Load up and get ready to suppress the crowd." Gavin nodded as Michael began to prime the explosive. "Here we are." Ryan said light heartedly. "Alright, let's do this!" Geoff yelled. The trio put on their masks and entered the bank. Gavin and Geoff were quick to disarm security, as Michael moved the staff away from the Invisible Alarm. Gavin helped herd the staff away as Geoff spoke, "Just remain calm everybody, we are not interested in becoming murderers." As he did this, Michael began to place the bomb. "20 seconds!" He screamed after a moment of arming. "Alright folks, I'd recommend you cover your ears now."

Only a few were smart enough to take the hint as the bomb detonated ripping apart the metal vault. Michael saw more than a few ears begin to bleed. "Move!" Geoff screamed to him as Michael began to fill the duffels. This went on for almost a minute, "How's it coming along?" Michael looked at the money surrounding him, "I got about half of it!" Geoff considered this briefly, "Go help him!" He commanded Gavin. Gavin rushed over as Geoff monitored the hostages. They finished after another minute or so and began to move the bags to the car. After another minute, 90% of the bags had been moved to the van before everything started to collapse. As Geoff began to help Michael and Gavin move the bags, one of the security guards moved slowly to his discarded pistol. He took aim at Michael as he loaded the last of the bags into van.

Gavin saw this and pushed his friend. BANG. "Oiy!" Gavin screamed as the bullet connected with his ribs. Gavin fell to his knees clutching his chest. "GAVIN!" Michael screamed. Michael turned and narrowly avoided the guard's second shot. Michael opened fire on the guard as Geoff grabbed Gavin. "Leg It!" Gavin screamed, losing blood rapidly. Michael dove into Ryan's SUV as Jack pulled away. "Ryan drive!" The silent Ryan began to speed down the highway, cutting of several cars as Michael tried to help stem the blood from Gavin's wound. "Bollocks!" Gavin said weakly. "Jack! Are you clear of the scene?" Geoff asked over the earphones. "Alright good, Stick to the plan for now!" Geoff looked at Gavin, "Fuck!"

The group drove down the road for another minute before they could hear sirens behind them. "Stop The Vehicle Now!" The cops screamed. "Fuck You!" Geoff screamed firing blindly out the window. The police began to open fire on the vehicle as Michael tried to help Gavin. "For Fucks Sake Ryan Lose 'Em!" No response. "Ryan?!" Geoff turned around. The windshield was shattered, and Ryan was hunched over the wheel motionless. Geoff noticed too late, and the car began to swerve, "Oh Shit! Hold On!" The car flipped and the passengers inside couldn't move for a short time. "No No No." Geoff began to yell exiting the vehicle, "No No." Michael pulled himself from the wrecked car and looked at the scene. The car was totaled, and their driver was dead. Geoff took cover behind the ruined car, "I'm not going to prison!" He screamed firing his weapon at the cops.

Michael looked around briefly and saw an ambulance parked down a side street. He felt Gavin for a pulse, and when he found one he made a beeline for the car. "Thank Christ!" Michael said. The paramedics had left the keys in the ignition! Michael shifted the car into gear and backed the ambulance back towards Geoff and Gavin. Geoff at this point was completely unaware of what was going on around him and was just firing his gun wildly into the crowd of police. When Michael finally loaded Gavin into the vehicle, Michael pulled himself into the driver's seat. Geoff, finally realizing what was going on, began to climb in the back of the ambulance. He almost had gotten in before a stray police round hit him in the upper chest. When Michael finally looked back, Geoff was either dead or unconscious. Michael floored it as he began to scream into the earpiece. "Jack!" Michael screamed, "Did you get away?!" Jack sounded confused, "Yeah, I'm on my way. Where's Geoff?" Michael looked at Geoff's unmoving body, "Ryan's dead and Geoff's either out cold or dead." "Fuck!" Jack screamed, "What about Gavin!?" Michael gulped, "He's currently bleeding out on the floor!" Jack was silent for a moment, "Plan's the same! I'll be at the evac area soon, get here ASAP!"

**Ray: 8:08 P.M.**

Ray had emptied the rounds into the cruisers behind Michael and was already reloading when he heard the faint hum of the helicopter. Ray looked up, then looked at Michael through the scope once more. The cruisers behind him were pretty held up by the wreckage of one, _"They'll be fine for now." _Ray decided, beginning to disassemble the rifle as fast as he could. He began to run to the top of the cliff. He saw Lindsay and Jack loading the bags into the helicopter as fast as possible. Ray tossed his rifle and pistol in and helped them load. "What the hell is going on?!" Ray asked Jack. "Ryan's dead, Gavin's shot up, Geoff's either dead or KO'd." Ray collapsed to his knees, "FUCK!" He screamed beating the Earth. "It doesn't matter now, help me move this last bag." Jack said evenly. Ray took a minute to collect himself before rising, "Alright, I'll He…" BANG. Jack collapsed, and Ray turned to see Lindsay holding a revolver to his lifeless corpse. "Lindsay What The Fuck!" Ray screamed. Lindsay was silent and she turned to Ray smiling evilly. "What do you mean Ray? Jack tried to double cross us and shot you. I was just lucky enough to grab my gun before he could turn to me." She punctuated the last word by cocking her gun's hammer. "Lindsay…" Ray started saying nervously, "You don't need to do this…" Lindsay smiled, "Sorry Ray, but Michael and I have a ride to catch." She pulled the trigger. "You fucking Bi…!" Was all Ray managed to say before the bullet connected.

**Michael: 8:17 P.M.**

Michael pulled up quickly in the ambulance. He rushed to the back as Lindsay opened the doors. "Gimme a hand with this!" He ordered. Lindsay complied and helped Michael move Gavin out of the Ambulance. Michael found Geoff in the back, and searched for pulse. He couldn't find one, and saw why, the stray bullet had connected directly with Geoff's heart, there was no chance he'd survive. It was almost a full minute before Michael saw the damage around him. "What The Hell Happened?" Michael asked Lindsay. She spoke slowly, "Jack arrived, we loaded up the chopper before he pulled on Ray. I took him down before he could turn to me." _Ray… _Michael looked quickly. He saw Ray flat against the ground with a single hole in him. "Fuck…!" Michael screamed, "FUCK!" Michael looked at his fallen friend, the bullet had hit him directly in the neck; He was dead before he hit the ground. Michael rose angrily, "Get Gavin onboard, I need a minute." Michael said turning to Jack's body.

Lindsay nodded, and moved the hardly breathing Brit into the chamber. Michael moved closer to Jack, pulling out his knife. Michael intended to scar this fucker until he heard a single word, "Liar." Michael looked and saw Jack breathing shallowly. "You're still alive eh?" Michael said holding back his rage briefly, "Not for long." Jack chuckled, "No," He said weakly, "Not for long but listen first." Michael pressed the knife to Jack's throat. "Why!? What else do I have to hear from you!?" Jack chuckled, "Grab my holster." Michael, unsure as to why he was listening to this fucker, found the holster and felt it. He felt a chill go down his spine. The pistol was still there, wrapped neatly inside. Jack spoke quietly, "Your friend's last words were I believe… You Fucking Bitch." Jack laughed weakly before finally expiring.

Michael grabbed Jack's pistol, and walked slowly to Ray. He bowed his head before speaking, "I'm sorry Ray." Lindsay rushed out to Michael, "Michael we gotta go now! Gavin's strapped in but we gotta take off now if we wanna get him help." Michael turned slowly, "Ahh yes, HELP!" Michael yelled, "Just like the way Ray got some help?" Lindsay, realising she'd been found out, began to back away nervously from Michael. "Michael, Just calm down honey…" Michael approached Lindsay slowly, now raising the pistol, "I… I did this for Us!" She began to yell. Michael shook his head, "You killed my best friend for us? You dragged my other best friend into a doomed heist and got him shot! For us!?"

Michael was aiming the pistol at Lindsay. "We can't undo that now, Michael I… I feel bad for Gavin, But Please look at what we have now!" She said gesturing towards the money. Michael shook his head, "It wasn't worth it." Michael fired the pistol. The round hit Lindsay in the chest. Lindsay fell to her knees grabbing her wound. "Michael… Please." She begged. "No more words," He said, "It's over." A single tear fell down Michaels cheek as he unloaded one final round into Lindsay's skull. Michael boarded the chopper. "C'mon Gavin, If nothing else, I'm getting you some help." Gavin looked weakly to Michael, "I'm sorry Michael." Michael readied the chopper, "I know Gavin, I Know." The chopper blades began to turn leaving the destruction of the night behind them.

* * *

"Ehhh." Blake said, "Not as good as you made it sound." Yang looked at Yang as if she had uttered some horrible curse, "What!" Yang demanded, "How did you not enjoy that!?" Blake considered her words, knowing very well Yang's obsession with the movie. "A little too…. Predictable for me." Yang looked as though she was about to slap Blake, "It's… It's…" Yang appeared to be having a mental breakdown. "I will say however…" Blake continued, "Michael's acting was superb." Yang calmed down, "Well at least we agree on that." She said pouting, "Trying to say any movie with The Achieve Men is bad…" Yang began to mutter. Blake laughed, "I didn't say it was a bad movie! I just said it was predictable, books are harder to figure out." She said opening one of her new ones.

Yang hated when she did that and used her secret tactic. "But that Gavin… He sure is SEXY!" Blake turned around at that. "Oh so you can call him sexy but me I'm just cute." Blake muttered jealously. _"Gotcha!" Yang thought mischievously." _Yang looked at Blake, "I've called you sexy before!" Blake flashed a jealous eye, "Name one time!" Blake said crossing her arms. Yang smiled, "Right now my sexy little kitty!" She pulled her partner over to her, decorating her cheek with light kisses. "Yang…" Blake said trying half heartedly to fight Yang. "Don't act like you don't love it." Yang said now playing with Blake's cat ears. Try as she might to deny it, Yang knew that Blake couldn't resist it when she played with her ears. Her point being proven with Blake's gentle purring.

Yang played with Blake like this for almost 20 minutes before stopping. "I really wish we could go together." Blake said sadly. "We still can…" Yang began. "I know, but I promised Sun..." Yang started to play with Blake's ears again, "You sure…?" Blake, between purrs, still managed to utter a defiant, "Yes." Yang stopped, "I still don't like it." Yang said pouting. Blake looked at Yang, a very seductive smile dancing across her face, "Don't worry, It's just a dance." Blake began to kiss Yang's neck, "What's the worst that could happen?"

**Don't You Just love Dramatic Irony? In all seriousness though, I wrote this on an Easter idea binge and decided to save it. I'm glad I did, because next chapter... It could use something to soften the overall tension.**

**Seriously though, Chapter 6 should be uploaded later today or tomorrow for those of you who desperately want to continue the story.**

**P.S. This takes place during the 2 week gap in Chapter One.**


	7. In Memoriam

RWBY: Vengeance

Chapter 6: In Memoriam

**Author's Note: Welcome Back to the regular story dear readers. Before we begin, I'd just like to thank you all for helping me inflict this mental torture on myself on a weekly basis. Truly I don't know what I would have done if Blake and Yang had been allowed to have a happy ending. I just can't handle the idea of two people having a happy ending... Fuck you all for making me do this.**

_**5 Days Later**_

**Ruby**

The snow fell slowly around Ruby as she walked the forest alone. She didn't say a word as she walked, never stopping to observe the tranquil beauty of the forest she was in. She moved slowly through the landscape, looking for a single thing in this oddly still world. She heard the Grimm moving towards her before she could see them. Ruby Rose stopped in the clearing and looked at the creatures surrounding her. There were 3 Beowolves as well as 2 smaller Ursa preparing to strike. Ruby looked down at the cold snow and collapsed to her knees. The creatures began their attack but Ruby didn't move, she let the monsters come to claim their prize.

They were less than 10 feet away when he appeared. The "Protector" as he called himself. He quickly struck down 2 of the Beowolves as they approached Ruby, with the third staying back waiting for a better time to strike. The Ursas lunged next, knocking the figure back several feet. Ruby could hear a gasp of pain escape his lips. He pressed on and moved quickly, confusing one of the Grimm as he slashed at the other. As the first Ursa fell, the remaining Beowulf took its chance. The Grimm dashed from the forest's edge, slashing the figure's face. He fell forward clutching his face, but still summoned enough strength to impale the wolf as it came around to face him once more. All that was left was the lone Ursa. It charged after a moment, knocking the man across the clearing.

The Ursa stood towering above its prize, about to finish the man when suddenly it was knocked to the side. Ruby slashed at the monster, sending massive tears across the beast's belly. As she did this, Ruby unloaded her dust rounds into the creature's chest. The Ursa still proved too strong and slapped Ruby away with a single strike. The Ursa charged the still fallen Ruby but was knocked to the ground. The figure, not giving the Ursa anytime to rise, quickly silenced the creature with a final thrust of his blade into the creature's neck. The man turned his attention to the silent Ruby who was now sat in the middle of the clearing.

"Miss Rose?" The figure asked. Ruby ignored him and listened to the sounds of the forest. "Ruby." He said again, Ruby heard him this time but decided not to respond. The figure sighed, "You wanted to know my name?" He said finally. Ruby turned to him slowly and nodded. "It's Reaver," He said after a minute of hesitation. Ruby looked at Reaver once again; Even behind his cut face, Ruby could see that he'd changed again. His hair was now a blinding white and his cat ears had disappeared. Reaver wasn't smiling, "I see you've noticed the change." He said solemnly. Ruby nodded slowly as she began to stand, "Why?" She asked, "Why is it you keep changing?" Reaver stood silent for a minute before deciding she was ready. "Because I am you." He said sadly. Ruby looked confused, "I am an embodiment of your fractured soul."

Ruby looked at Reaver curiously and backed away slightly, "That… That can't be true.." Reaver spoke evenly, "It is," He said, "Every time we've, I've changed in some way; Every time we've met your spirit has been broken in some way." Ruby looked to the ground, "Blake…" The events of that night still replaying in her mind. "Yes," His voice changed to that of her deceased friend, "From Blake." He moved closer to Ruby, "Each time something happens, You see me. Each time someone you care about is hurt you we've met." His voice changed once again, this time to that of Jaune, "The dance was merely the first time you were old enough to remember." Ruby's legs felt heavy,. "But…" She choked on her words, "Jaune's awake." Reaver shook his head, "But is he the same?" Ruby couldn't answer that question. Ruby looked at him once more, "Your Eyes…" Ruby said finally recognizing them. Reaver smiled at that, his normal voice returning, "The only part of you that has always stood by you." Ruby thought of Yang. Reaver spoke slowly now, "Awaken dear child, Your sister needs you now as much you've needed her." Ruby began to wipe her tears as the snow surrounded her once more.

Ruby snapped awake, wiping away a cold sweat across her forehead. 4:37 A.M. the clock read. Ruby collapsed onto her bed and looked around the room. Weiss was asleep still, as was Yang. She looked at her sister, she could see the cold sweat on her sister's forehead and the light marks left by her tears on the sheets. Ruby looked around their new room. It had no soul to it, no memories were made here, no friendships ever tested. Roman had destroyed the room that had, and forced her team into this prison. Ruby got up quietly and snuck outside. When she exited the room, Ruby was surprised to find Jaune sat outside with similar thoughts as her.

"Hey Ruby." Jaune said, his friendly smile nowhere to be seen. "Hi Jaune," Ruby said sadly, "Why are you up so early?" She asked. Jaune sighed, "Just thinking." Ruby approached him, "Yeah, me too." Jaune looked at his young friend, "I'm sorry Ruby." He said giving her a small hug. Tears began to form in Ruby's eyes, "It's okay Jaune." She said, the pain in her voice becoming more apparent with each word. "No it isn't," he said, "It isn't and it's pointless to say it is." Jaune said angrily. Ruby was visibly taken aback by the harshness of Jaune's tone. Jaune turned to face her, and bowed his head in shame when he saw he'd upset her, "I'm sorry Ruby." Ruby, normally strong enough to manage her emotions, couldn't hold it in any longer and began to cry into Jaune's shoulder. Jaune held Ruby and spoke to her in a slow, comforting tone, "Let it out Ruby." Ruby sat there crying into Jaune's shoulder for almost 10 minutes before she finally pulled herself away from her blonde friend. "Thank you." Ruby said quietly as she wiped the last of her tears away. "Anytime." Jaune said quietly as Ruby returned to her temporary room. Ruby laid down in her bed and prayed that she fall back asleep. She got her wish and slept a dreamless sleep for another few hours.

**Yang**

Yang awoke next with a stir. For a moment she was confused, _"Where are the bunk beds?" She asked herself. She began to rise and was going to find Blake. _"Blake..." Yang said sadly as she remembered what had happened. Yang moved slowly and left their room silently.

Yang left her dormitory and proceed out into the courtyard. It was a gloomy day; The sun was hidden behind dark grey clouds and there was a light but relentless rain falling. Blake loved days like these Yang remembered. While the rest of her team would complain that they couldn't practice, Blake would nestle herself beside the window and listen to the falling rain. It always relaxed her, and Yang never understood why until now. Yang sat beside the window and thought of her partner. _"She was right," Yang thought, "There's something oddly soothing about the rain." _Yang listened to the gentle pitter patter for a few minutes. "It's almost poetic." Yang thought thinking of why would happen later that day. As Yang was deep in her thoughts, a figure approached her, "Hey Yang." The figure said. Yang turned and saw Pyrrha stood beside her, "Hey Pyrrha." Yang said sadly. Pyrrha took a set beside her friend, "Why are you up so early?" She asked. Yang shrugged, "Couldn't sleep, Decided to take a walk." Pyrrha nodded, "I know the feeling."

The duo sat in silence together watching the rain fall before Pyrrha spoke again, "It doesn't have to be today." She said sadly, "I'm sure Ozpin would…" Yang felt tears well up inside her before speaking, "No, she'd want it today." Yang said her voice cracking at each word. Pyrrha looked at Yang surprised but nodded silently. Pyrrha and Yang sat together for another minute before Yang spoke once again, "She always liked the rain." Pyrrha listened silently, "She always said it calmed her down, I never understood why until now." She said distantly watching the rain fall onto the glass. Pyrrha looked for the words to help console her clearly hurt friend but found none.

_"This is bad." Pyrrha thought, "After Jaune I at least had Velvet, but Yang... She's alone." _Pyrrha thought, worried for her lonely friend. _"The only other person she had was Ruby, and she's..." _Pyrrha and Jaune had each heard Ruby's crying in her sleep and had seen Ruby sneak off more than once to cry alone in the courtyard. Pyrrha nervously checked her watch, 9:07 A.M. Another 3 hours or so until… It. Pyrrha decided to sit with Yang until then, sending a short message to Jaune over her scroll, _"With Yang, Please get my stuff ready." _Pyrrha hit send, and sat by her friend. They each watched the rain gently fall and thought of their friend.

**Weiss**

Weiss awoke slowly, with a neutral expression written across her face. She looked to the clock beside her bed, 10:17 A.M. _"2 Hours to get ready." Weiss thought sadly. _Weiss rose from the sheets and began to compose herself for the day, but first she looked at Ruby. She could see, even from several feet away, the small, wet marks where her tears had fallen. _"I'm sorry Ruby." _Weiss thought sadly. Weiss left the room and began and was about to walk to the cafeteria before receiving a message on her scroll, "Miss Schnee, please see me when you read this. -Professor Ozpin" Weiss read the message quickly and began to walk towards his office, passing the courtyard's entrance along the way. She paused as she passed the massive glass windows surrounding the room. _"What a grim day." Weiss thought sadly, "It suits the occasion." _Weiss walked beyond the courtyard and neared Ozpin's office. She knocked twice before the door opened slowly, "Hello Miss Schnee." Ozpin said in a deadpan tone. "Hello Professor," Weiss returned in an equal tone, "You wanted to see me?" Ozpin nodded and directed her towards the seat in front of the desk.

**Ozpin**

Weiss sat waiting for Ozpin to speak, to her surprise he was silent for a long time. Ozpin stared out the window in his office, it offered him a view of the entirety of Beacon. Ozpin's normally stoic personality turned sour, and a scowl danced across his face. "It's all wrong." Ozpin said angrily. Weiss looked up at that, never before had Ozpin's demeanor turned dark. "Professor?" Weiss began to ask. Ozpin turned to Weiss, suddenly a tone of guilt entered his voice, "I never wanted this," Ozpin said, "It's my job as a teacher to protect you, prepare you from everything out there." Ozpin said gesturing his hand towards the window. "And I've failed you, I've failed you all." Weiss was unsure of what to say, "Professor…" Weiss said trying to find any words to comfort Ozpin, "Don't Miss Schnee, I don't deserve your pity." He said holding his hand to Weiss, "I've failed Miss Schnee, The young aren't supposed to die. That is the role of the old such as myself." Ozpin began to compose himself once more, "Miss Belladonna was one of the brightest minds ever to grace Beacon's hall, and because of my inaction the world will never be graced by her brilliant mind."

Weiss listened intently as Ozpin continued, "Miss Schnee, I called you down here for a purpose, and that purpose is this." He turned to Weiss, "I'm sorry." Weiss blinked several times, trying to register what Ozpin had just said. Weiss spoke with a fire inside of her, "NO!" She screamed at her professor, "This is Roman's fault, Not Yours, Not Ruby's, Not Yang's!" Ozpin shook his head, "No Miss Schnee, It is my fault. I was unable to stop Mr Torchwick that night and because of that he was able to orchestrate this." Tears began to form is Weiss's icy blue eyes, "Why did this happen?" Weiss begged Ozpin. "Evil feeds upon the innocent Miss Schnee, Miss Belladonna sacrificed herself to save some of that innocence." Ozpin said referring to Ruby. Weiss finally cried. "Roman's death is not the end." Ozpin said with a certain steel in his voice, "There are more forces at work here than Mr. Torchwick, and all of them will pay." Ozpin turned away from Weiss and faced the large window, "Please, Tell them I am sorry." Weiss finally nodded, "Thank you Miss Schnee, you are dismissed."

As Weiss left, Ozpin thought to himself quietly, _"I will end you Cinder." Ozpin thought with an unnatural anger to him, "You have unleashed a storm upon this world that will only end with you." _Ozpin looked at the time, 11:13 A.M. Ozpin began to ready himself for the rest of the day.

**Yang**

Yang entered the courtyard with Pyrrha. They'd stayed together watching the rain fall for a long time before Yang looked at her watch, 11:09. Time to get ready. Pyrrha led Yang back to their rooms and they began to dress themselves properly. They each departed quietly, arriving in the still drizzling courtyard at 11:55. They stood quietly awaiting the rest of their group's arrival. The next to arrive, were Sun and Velvet. Sun's normally cocky smile gone, Yang could see the dark circles under his eyes and he took his place beside Yang. Velvet looked even worse, she refused to make eye contact with anybody, and had all but buried herself into Sun's side. Yang heard her weak sobbing as Sun tried to comfort her.

Ren, Jaune, and Nora followed soon after, Ren even colder than usual and Jaune's friendly nature was dashed. But what was truly heart breaking was Nora; Nora was truly depressed. Her normally hyper behavior subdued and friendly personality gone entirely. Yang saw dried tears beneath her eyes, and hugged her. "Thank you." Nora said quietly. Yang continued to hug her as Weiss appeared. Weiss was by far the most composed of the group, but everyone could feel the sadness radiate from her. Weiss moved close to her friends and remained silent, unable to make eye contact with anyone. Professors Port and Oobleck appeared next, each of them silently stood on the edge of the group, Port's normally invigorated mood dashed, and Oobleck's incredible speed reduced to a slow walk. Ruby was the last to arrive, walking slowly towards the small pack that was forming, completely unaware of the light rain hitting her dark hair. She took her place by her sister quietly weeping as the clock struck twelve.

The group all at once began to enter the Emerald Forest, led by the somber Professor Port. They were led to a clearing near the forest's edge, and there they saw professor Ozpin sat waiting. As they approached, Ozpin turned to face them; the melancholy look on his face plainly visible to everyone. The crowd slowly moved closer as Ozpin turned to reveal a thin, dark shrine in the middle of the clearing. The crowd gradually surrounded the shrine, and began to quietly mourn. Slowly, each person present moved to the shrine and left something behind. Jaune and Pyrrha went first, leaving a small plant which Yang recognized as Deadly Nightshade. She'd never understood Blake's fascination with the poisonous plant, but she'd always kept a small one sat beside her bed and never let anybody touch it. She'd gone so far as to chase Yang with a pair of scissors when she'd tried to trim it for her. _"So protective of that small plant." Yang thought, "Let it grow out, it's beautiful as it is."_ Blake had yelled at her. Yang touched her long hair, she'd nearly lost a few strands over that. The group continued to leave the objects behind silently, and eventually it was Yang's turn. Yang approached slowly, looking at the short monument. It had only a few words written on it,

_Blake Belladonna_

_A Beloved Teammate, A Brilliant Mind, A Better Friend._

_Taken too early from this mourning world, She died protecting one of her closest friends._

_He sacrifice will not be forgotten, Nor will she. _

_Let her serve as a Beacon for equality, and a reminder of the world's cruelty._

_Blake Belladonna_

_A Beloved Teammate, A Brilliant Mind, A True Partner_

Beneath the words, was her symbol. Yang touched the dark, chiseled granite slowly. Tears streaming from her lilac eyes. _"Why did she have to write it? Why not Ruby or Weiss?" Yang thought, "My words don't do her justice." _ Yang wept quietly before feeling a gentle hand touch her shoulder. Yang turned to see Ruby stood beside her. Ruby didn't say a word and knelt by her sister's side. Yang continued to weep for a short while before she looked one last time at the Black Granite. "Goodbye Blake." Yang said between tears, tying her friend's bow around the small monument, "Goodbye." Yang rose and, with Ruby, walked from the forest clearing tears streaming down her face.

**Ozpin**

Ozpin watched the two sister's leave with the rest of their group, and suddenly found himself alone beside the Granite monument. He looked at the words inscribed on the dark rock, _"No. You won't be forgotten." _Ozpin promised himself. Ozpin then walked slowly around the monument, observing all the mementos left behind. Ozpin spoke slowly but evenly, "I will avenge you Miss Belladonna, Cinder will not escape." Ozpin reached his hand into his pocket and grabbed something small from inside. He held it tightly before placing it beside Jaune's flower and walked away. "Glynda can buy another damn piece if she's so inclined." The Golden Knight stood tall beside the monument, a symbol of her partner's and her's brief time together.

**Adam**

Adam watched from a distance as the group proceeded to the clearing. He saw Yang fall beside his partner's memorial and he frowned, _"This is what she abandoned us for, these weaklings?" _He thought angrily. Adam's anger cooled as he watched the dark haired girl approach the blonde, _"Of course... Who would want the strength to stand strong against this?" _He watched as the group departed and began to move closer. He paused as he saw an older man silently sat beside the memorial. He observed curiously as the man swore under his breath something he couldn't read.

Adam moved closer as he left, observing the small mementos that were left behind. Adam scanned the area sadly. Adam moved closer and knelt before the monument, reading the short elegy and clenched his hands. _"She died for one of them?!" Adam screamed in his head, "His friend was gone for one of those weaklings!" _Adam began to turn away, _"You left us for these weaklings Blake? For these people who couldn't even protect you!?"_ Adam thought bitterly before seeing the bow tied around the little black rock. Adam moved closer and kneeled, "So they knew huh?" Adam said, "And they still mourned you." Adam thought sadly over this. Slowly, a single tear fell from behind behind his mask to his cheek, "Goodbye Blake," He said sadly as another tear followed, "I know you can't hear me but…" He searched for the words. "But you were right, you were right to leave." Adam turned away from the grave, for once unsure of what he needed to do. _"I will avenge you Blake," _Adam promised himself, _"I don't know how but somehow I will avenge you."_ Adam left the memorial and made a call, "Felix…" Adam said angrily, "I need your help." Adam looked angrily towards the clearing, "It's about Blake."

**Cinder**

"The stupid bastard!" Cinder screamed. She was of course referring to Roman who had almost single handedly decimated their organization. Cinder had watched the video from Roman's cameras and was screaming at them almost the entire time. "He bombed Beacon! He bombed Weiss FUCKING Schnee! He's single handedly alienated the White Fang!" She screamed. The White Fang were less than pleased with the death of Blake. Even though she had abandoned them, many understood Blake's reasons for leaving and Roman had made many enemies with her death. Even as angry as she was, Cinder was still surprised to see how quickly the White Fang abandoned them. She had expected some anger naturally, but this much loyalty was shocking to her. She'd hoped that the Schnee bombing might solidify some members loyalty, but even that had failed. _"Roman was right in one regard," Cinder thought angrily, "The White Fang were loyal… Just to the wrong people." _Cinder marveled at their loyalty for another minute before calling a few people. "In hindsight," Cinder thought, "We were a little too dependent on the White Fang as our main source of muscle."

Cinder moved past this and thought of the problem at hand. She now had the single largest company on Remnant putting bounties on her's and her organization's heads and not many allies left to defend them. The Schnees, despite Weiss's insistence, had a very sketchy history and had no difficulty find out who had bombed their daughter. When they found out, the attacks became quite common. Several times already, Cinder had been forced to execute a lowlife who hadn't didn't realized quite how powerful she really was. "And the fucking idiot got himself killed too!" She had seen the camera footage recovered from the building. _"Always had to goad people on, couldn't ever tell when to sit quietly." Cinder thought bitterly. "Miss Pyrrha Nikos, Now a killer all for you Roman, all because you couldn't keep your ego in check." _

Even after 5 days, Cinder still hadn't calmed down, she was mostly angry at all the problems Roman had left. They needed some way to reassert their dominance, and Cinder trying to think of some way to scare away the Schnees as well. "Miss Nikos will do." Cinder said to herself. _"We can use it as a warning against any power plays, plus we can send a message against the Schnees. Their daughter's supposed to be friends with her, maybe they'll see how easily we can finish her off. Who better than the celebrity?" _Cinder smiled maniacally. She'll have to play it smarter than Roman, "This doesn't have to be flashy but it needs to send a message." She said. She opened up a small scroll, "Mercury, Turquoise, I need to speak with you." She said finally, calling her associates to her. This would be clean operation, she would not trust this to anybody short of them. "I have an operation underway."

**Author's Note: They never learn do they? Anyway, here it is. The most depressing thing I've written. Thank for putting me through this mental torture of writing it guys, Thanks. How am I supposed to find a way to follow this up!? Whatever you guys don't care, sat there, reading Fan Fiction… ½ OF YOU DON'T KNOW THE STRUGGLE! Alright, Rant over. I'll start brainstorming.**

**Anyways, Thanks for 2K views, I really do appreciate it. Please message me or leave a review if you wish something to be added or you have a suggestion. I really do take them into account. (The Knight Hunter, I'm looking at you.)**


	8. Sweet Dreams

Chapter 7: Sweet Dreams

**Author's Note: So I may or may not have just realized I called Emerald Turquoise by mistake. Sorry for the confusion. Anyway, if it hasn't become obvious, I've always viewed dreaming as an unhindered view into one's subconscious. **

_Time is meant to heal all wounds. No matter how grievous, time is meant to wash away any pain a person might feel. Time heals everything, given enough patience. Or at least that's how it's supposed to work… It had been nearly 3 weeks since the service, and still Yang awoke screaming from her nightmares. The memory of Blake's death replaying each night, Yang hasn't had a good nights sleep in weeks. Each night she prays for the nightmares to stop, but each night they return; seemingly emboldened by her misery! Tonight was one such night, but tonight would be different…_

**Yang**

It was a stormy day. Yang was walking down a street in Vale, looking for some protection from the rain. Ruby and Weiss had gone back to Beacon earlier that day, leaving Blake and Yang to fend for themselves. Blake left to find when the next airships would leave for Beacon as Yang took shelter in a library.

"Hello?" Yang called out, "Is anyone here?" No response. "Guess not." Yang said moving towards the lights. She flicked the switch, and saw hundreds of rows of bookshelves. Yang took a seat and sent a message to Blake over her scroll, "At Big Library, Text me when you can. -Yang" Yang began to look around the building and slowly drifted to sleep. She awoke to a gentle vibration coming from her pocket.

She checked her scroll, "Cafe, 20 Minutes." Yang read the message slowly, slowly reawakening._ "What time is it?" Yang wondered checking her scroll. _10:22 P.M. "Holy Shit!" Yang yelled panicking, "We're supposed to be back already!" Yang rushed towards the door.

Yang was outside the shop within 10 minutes. "Oh God she is gonna be pissed!" Yang said to herself walking into the store. "Listen Blake…" Yang said quickly, not letting Blake yell at her, "I just…" Yang stopped talking. _"Why are the lights out?" Yang thought suddenly. _"Blake…" Yang asked nervously, _"Is this one of her stupid jokes?" _Yang began to move along the wall looking for a light switch. "Blake this isn't funny, turn on the lights!" Yang began to yell, "You know I hate the dark!" The darkness enveloped the room for another moment before Yang began to feel angry, "BLAKE TURN ON THE DAMN LIGHTS!" She screamed. There was a quiet flick and the lights lit up the small store. What Yang saw terrified her.

The was a small trail of blood in the middle of the cafe, leading into the kitchen. "BLAKE!" Yang screamed as she ran towards the source of the blood. Yang entered the dark back room and began to look for a switch. Suddenly a light flicked on in front of Yang momentarily blinding her before she felt a large piece of metal hit the back of her head. Yang collapsed and her vision began to fade; Before she did however, she hear a voice, "I told you you were gonna pay." A second smack across the back of her skull knocked Yang unconscious.

Yang returned to consciousness slowly and could feel herself tied to a chair. _"No, not tied... Welded." _Yang thought as she tried to move the metal around her forearms. Ahead of her stood a grinning man, "Hey Blondie, Remember Me?" Yang smiled cockily, "Of course Junior, how could I forget?" Yang's head hurt, but she tried to ignore the pain to focus on Junior, "Where's Blake?" Yang asked now seriously. Junior grinned, "Who the cat? She's over there." He pointed to another chair at the end of the room showing a visibly beaten Blake. Junior could see her eye turn red, "Not today Blondie," He tapped Ember Celica on the table beside him, "You have visitors and you need to be on your best behavior." Yang frowned and stared down Junior for almost 10 minutes before the "Guests" arrived.

"Hello Miss Xiao Long." Roman said happily, "I trust Junior here has been keeping you entertained?" Yang flared her nostrils as Junior unsheathed a small knife. "Easy Junior," Roman said, "We need Miss Xiao Long… For Now." Junior moved away from Yang angrily as Roman stared Yang down, "So my dear blonde, Where is your sister?" Yang spit in Roman's face. "How Rude," Roman said angrily as he wiped his face, "Junior, show her what will happen if she forgets her manners again." Junior moved closer to Blake and flashed his knife. "NO!" Yang screamed. Roman smiled evilly to Yang before nodding to Junior. Junior dragged the knife slowly across Blake's bare back. Blake didn't scream or even squeal once, but Yang could see the pain in her eyes.

"STOP I'LL TELL YOU!" Yang screamed. Roman held up his hand to Junior, making him stop as he leaned in closer. "Good Girl, now where are they?" Roman asked. "Beacon, the South-East dormitories. Now please, let Blake go!" Yang begged. Roman rose, "Well miss Xiao Long, That was far easier than I expected. Junior, please release Miss Belladonna." Roman walked away quickly. Yang looked to Blake and sighed in relief, _"No matter what happens, Blake will get Ruby and Weiss and Junior will wish he was never born." _Yang thought consoling herself. Yang suddenly heard a violent cough followed by a chair falling over. Yang saw the knife in Blake's chest before she hit the floor, and her eyes burnt brighter than ever before.

Yang could feel the metal melting around her arms from the enormous flame that now surrounded her person. "JUNIOR!" Yang screamed as she rushed towards the wannabe gangster. Junior didn't even have the time to turn around before the Blonde tackled him, laying fist after fist into his face. Junior tried the best to fight back, but the combination of the brawler's punches and the raging inferno surrounding her proved too much. Junior could feel his jaw shatter as Yang threw him against the wall, he didn't have the strength to get back up. He looked weakly and saw the cafe had caught fire, "That stupid Blonde…" He said.

Yang, once finished beaten Junior into submission, rushed to Blake. Her pulse barely there and her breathing gone; Blake was already dead… And the Son of a Bitch who'd killed her was less than 10 feet away. Yang looked down and saw the knife beside Blake's corpse, she hesitated only for a moment before grabbing it. Yang walked coldly towards the beaten Junior. Junior looked up to the Blonde brawler before speaking, "Guess you won," He said realizing his fate, "Just make it quick." Suddenly Junior felt the knife plunge firmly into his chest, just below the heart. He collapsed over the knife in pain, but his body refused to die. Yang picked up Blake's body and began to leave, "Wait Dammit!" Junior screamed, "Get back here and finish this!" As Junior said this, the fire began to surround him. "Please…" He begged Yang. Yang gave him a cold stare before leaving the burning building. His screams filled the building for another minute before the flames engulfed him entirely.

As Yang watched the building burn, another figure appeared beside her. "Was it worth it?" The figure asked. Yang simply nodded. "Doing that won't bring her back." Yang shook her head, "I don't care." The figure sighed, as the entire world began to change around them, "You don't care?" He asked, "You don't care that you just killed a man?" Yang shook her head. The figure continued to pace around her, "You miss her that much don't you?" Yang was caught off guard by this question but nodded slowly. "Who killed her?" He asked next. "Jun…" The figure cut Yang off, "Nope! Time to wake up Blondie!" The man angrily. Yang began to feel uneasy, "I… It… It was Roman." The figure shook his head, "Nope, She killed herself protecting your sister, Remember?" Yang's legs began to feel heavy but nodded slowly, "And who can you take this out on? Roman?" Ha laughed, "Pyrrha handled him pretty well. Ruby? She's hardly at fault in this."

Yang looked at her feet, unable to face the truth of the figure's words. "Face it, you can't take this out on anybody. You need to move on!" The figure demanded. Tears began to fall from her lilac eyes, "How?" She asked. "First, Wake up. Second, Calm the Fuck down." He said, "You're a threat to everything right now, you need to take control again." Yang looked confused before the darkness changed into the clearing, in it was a dark marble rock... "If you can't control yourself, everyone you care about will be at risk." He said finally before disappearing as the darkness surrounded Yang. Yang awoke quickly and looked around the room. It was 8:07 A.M. and Weiss and Ruby were still asleep. Yang quickly rose from her bed and got dressed. She grabbed Ember Celica and left the room quietly, headed towards the forest clearing.

**Velvet**

"You don't have to go." Sun said comfortingly to Velvet. Velvet shook her head,sadly, "Yes I do," Velvet looked at Sun with a small smile on her face, "Someone's gotta watch over you." She said poking Sun's nose. Sun smiled as he helped Velvet to her feet, "Let's go then." He opened the door for Velvet, "Allow me m'lady." He earned a small peck on the cheek for his trouble.

Velvet could sense the tension Sun felt as they approached the Memorial. Sun had been good friends with Blake, as good friends as she was with her, and she could tell that he was devastated. It was subtle, his walk was slower than usual and his usually cocky grin was replaced with a neutral look. A stranger could mistake it for just an uneventful day, but Velvet knew better; He was suffering. Velvet held his hand tightly as they approached the clearing. Velvet was nervous, not just for herself but for Sun. Sun's normally confident personality had disappeared for the last month, and Velvet was afraid it would never return. As Velvet and Sun approached the clearing , they heard gentle sobbing coming from it. Sun rushed ahead while Velvet hesitated before following. They each paused at the edge of the clearing, and saw Yang sat quietly weeping before the stone.

Sun looked to Velvet who nodded before moving closer, "Yang..." Sun said quietly. Yang's body stiffened as she heard his voice. "Please go..." Yang said weakly, attempting to stifle her tears. Velvet moved closer to Yang and knelt before the memorial, "Not yet, not until we know you're okay." Velvet said in a comforting tone. Yang turned to Velvet with daggers in her eyes, "Of course I'm not okay!" She snapped, "Blake is dead and I'm alone!" Velvet hugged Yang, "You're not alone, you have us and your team." Yang began to cackle, "Oh yes my team!" Yang said now laughing crazily, "With my train-wreck of a sister and an heiress who shut us both out! How could I forget about my wonderful team?!" Velvet was shocked, she'd never thought that Ruby would break under the pressure. "And then there's you two…" Yang continued, "Great, I get the stuttering Bunny girl and her thief of a boyfriend!" Sun moved too quickly for Velvet to stop her, "Take. That. Back." Sun said, barely holding in his rage.

Yang, as if snapped out of some kind of spell, began to cry again. "I'm sorry." She said as tears began to fall, "I just…" Sun stopped her, "No. When things get tough, you don't turn on your friends. EVER." Yang was at a loss for words as Velvet tried to console her friend. "What Sun means," She glared at her boyfriend, "Is that when things get tough, we're always here for you." Yang continued to cry, as Velvet looked at the black rock. "She was my first true friend." Velvet said quietly. Yang looked at Velvet with an odd expression on her face, "Even in my old village, kids always picked on me. I thought coming to Beacon might help but Cardin…" There was a small scar left at the base of her bunny ears.

"She helped me. During an open period, Cardin was coming to bug me but Blake stopped him." Yang had a look of surprise written across her face. "She was the first person to be kind to me here, then I met the rest of you." Yang smiled sadly, _"Yup that was Blake, always so protective…" _She thought. Velvet continued, "If it weren't for her, I was thinking about leaving. Cardin made it so hard to be here and if she hadn't stopped him… I don't know what I'd have done." Yang looked at Velvet and hugged her. "Thank you for staying." Velvet returned the hug, "You should be thanking her," Velvet darted her eyes towards the black stone, "I wouldn't have been strong enough to stay here if not for her." The group sat quietly and mourned their fallen friend before hearing a loud crack in the distance.

**Pyrrha**

It all happened so slowly. Roman had snide remark about Jaune, and Pyrrha had impaled him. Pyrrha could see the smile fade from his face as he realized what had happened. Her words were calm then, her tone she could see terrified him more than anything. Each movement of her weapon had caused Roman horrible pain she could see, but never once did he break eye contact with her. Even after Pyrrha's final kick, his eyes remained focused on hers. As he fell, he knew he was going to die; And he wanted Pyrrha to understand that she'd killed him. It was his last act of cruelty to the world. Pyrrha watched seemingly frozen, as Roman fell from the building. His fall only took a few seconds but to Pyrrha, it felt as if it had lasted an eternity. She had taken a mans life. Pyrrha snapped awake as Roman's body connected with the ground.

Pyrrha looked around their room. It was a lot less personal than their previous one, but they had made it none of them had been in the building when it caught fire and most of their school supplies were in their lockers. But what they did lose, were the memories they'd had in the room. Each of them had loved their room, and this new one they were forced into seemed foreign. Pyrrha looked at her team next; Nora was asleep, cuddled against a sleeping Ren. _"One day Nora, One day Ren will finally say it." _Pyrrha thought happily. It still amazed her that Ren, one of the most confident and collected people she knew, couldn't just admit things to Nora. _"He isn't subtle either, was this how they felt watching me and Jaune?" _Pyrrha wondered.

"_Speaking of Jaune…" _Pyrrha thought as she turned to her still sleeping leader. _"Good he's still asleep." _Pyrrha thought as she began to quietly dress herself. She needed to be alone for now, the nightmare had put her on edge and she needed someplace quiet to think. Pyrrha finally finished dressing herself and began to head towards the Emerald Forest closed the door slowly and didn't hear the blonde boy begin to wake up.

Pyrrha walked through the forest slowly, taking care to make sure no Grimm heard her. The last thing she wanted was to be interrupted now. She finished her walk and arrived. The location was like that of a fairy tale; The sunrise breaking lightly through the leaves, the gentle running of the stream, and the faint humming of the birds around her; Pyrrha felt at peace here. She'd found this place shortly after their initiation, and came here whenever she felt under too much stress. It was weird she thought, the Grimm never appeared to have entered this place, it was like it was under some sort of protection from all the darkness of the world. Pyrrha sat beside the stream and closed her eyes.

Pyrrha didn't know how long she'd been sat in the forest before she heard a faint crunch of leaves. Her eyes snapped open as she turned her rifle on them. She aimed down the sight but wasn't greeted by a sight of an Ursa or Beowolf as she' expected, but rather by two people. Pyrrha lowered Miló but remained on guard. "Who are you?" She asked. The two figures remained silent as they moved to either side of Pyrrha. Pyrrha felt slightly nervous, and aimed Miló at the woman with light green hair, "Who are you two?" Pyrrha demanded. The woman seemed somewhat surprised at Pyrrha's aiming of her weapon but if she was afraid, her face didn't give it away. "Miss Pyrrha Nikos?" She asked. Pyrrha nodded before seeing a devilish smile dance across the woman's face. "Goodbye." She simply said; Pyrrha looked confused before she felt a burst of pain throughout her chest. Pyrrha reflexively pulled the trigger on Miló as she fell, and as her vision faded she hoped somebody had heard the gunfire.

**Jaune**

"_Where the hell is she?" _Jaune wondered. He had heard Pyrrha leave the room, and followed her. The only problem was, Pyrrha had a large head start on Jaune as he got dressed and was very quiet when she moved. Jaune walked for maybe 10 minutes into the Emerald Forest before he lost her. _"C'mon Arc, think. Where would she go?" _Jaune replayed the past few months in his mind, hoping that Pyrrha had mentioned where she'd be going in the past. _"Not the temple, too far plus no real reason to. Not Blake's memorial, we already passed it. Nothing." _Jaune cursed under his breath and, out of any other ideas, just began to walk around hoping to get lucky. Another half hour and Jaune considered waking Ren and Nora to help him look. He was about to when he remembered how closely Nora was holding Ren, _"Well can't wake them for the sake of my legs. Dammit Nora." _The Wrath of the Valkyrie was something not many would like to face again. He shuddered as he remembered what Nora did when he took her pancakes by accident.

As he was remembering the unfortunate incident, Jaune heard a loud crack in the distance. "Oh shit…" Jaune said running towards the bullet's origin, _"Pyrrha wouldn't use her rifle unless it was an emergency!" _The rifle was far too loud and attracted too much unwanted attention whenever it was fired according to her. Thankfully, it's incredibly loud bang worked for Jaune, as he rushed towards Pyrrha. He was there within a minute, and saw two people stood near an unconscious Pyrrha. Jaune was about to yell to them to help before he noticed something in the man's hand. _"Is that a pistol?" _Jaune thought panicking as he hid behind a tree. As the man turned away, Jaune rushed towards Pyrrha holding his shield towards the two strangers. It became apparent that his instinct was right as he felt 3 additional shots hit his shield as he examined Pyrrha.

She did not look good. Despite the relatively rapid response of Jaune, Pyrrha had already lost a lot of blood and was unconscious. Jaune slowed his breathing for a moment and focused; He made sure the bullet had passed through her entirely and began to use his own Aura to supplement her rapidly weakened levels. It became increasingly difficult as the man continued to fire at his shield, and Jaune knew that he'd eventually realize he was just wasting ammo. Jaune used the short amount of time that he had before this to work on Pyrrha. He was able to stop her bleeding but that was all before he felt a firm kick in the chest knock him back.

Jaune found himself face to face with the mint haired woman. "Who in the name of Dust are you?" Jaune asked, trying to buy himself time to think of a plan. The woman smiled smugly, "That won't matter in a moment. It's a shame really, you didn't need to die but…" She pulled out a rather large Kukri knife, "No loose ends." Emerald felt his body relax and saw him smile. She leaned in closer, confused, "What? Not afraid to die?" Jaune stared her down, "No, you just aren't very smart." As he said this, he smashed his head against Emerald's knocking her back. Jaune ran towards his shield once more and took cover behind it as the man continued to fire. As he did this, he didn't notice the figure appearing behind him. Emerald did however and tried to warn him, "Mercury behind you!" Mercury turned around only to be knocked to the ground by Adam.

**Mercury**

Adam held his sword to Mercury's throat as Emerald began to rise. She began to run towards the two before the blonde haired boy tackled her into the ground; Mercury could see her ankle twist even from that far away. Mercury, seizing upon Adam's momentary distraction by the fight, knocked his sword away and ran to Jaune. He pulled out his knife and tackled Jaune to the ground, the knife inches away from Jaune's neck. Jaune however, thanks largely to his training with Pyrrha over the past several months, was able to hold back the knife long enough for Adam to appear behind him. Adam pulled Mercury off of Jaune and threw him towards the ground. However rather than stop him with his sword, Adam immediately stabbed his heart. Fear formed around Mercury's eyes as he felt a wave of pain come over him. He tried weakly to pull out the sword but found he no longer had the strength to do so. He collapsed as Adam withdrew the sword and the life faded from him, his last sight being of Emerald crawling away slowly, _"Survive, Please Survive Emerald." _He thought, as his vision faded into nothingness.

**Adam**

Adam turned, and began to move towards the woman; Only to be stopped by the blond boy he'd been saved only moments ago. "No." He said raising the knife to Adam. Adam ignored his words and moved closer. Jaune now moved closer, "I said no, Leave now!" he demanded. Adam, without any hesitation, quickly disarmed Jaune and snapped his left wrist. To Adam's surprise, the wrist didn't break but Jaune quickly collapsed before the enormous pain, Adam moved closer to the woman. She tried faster to crawl as Adam approached, but was still to slow. Adam quickly smashed the hilt of his weapon against Emerald's skull and her body went limp. He felt her for a pulse and left, carrying her over his shoulder. He stopped when he saw Jaune knelt beside Pyrrha, "Never Stand In My Way." He said angrily before leaving. He opened his scroll, "Felix send someone to pick me up, I've got something interesting that you'll wanna see."

**Yang**

Yang moved the fastest of the three, and was there a full minute before the rest of her friends. but even with her fast arrival, it still took her almost five minutes before she found the source of the gunfire. Yang analyzed the scene and saw Jaune, slumped down on the ground holding his left arm in clear pain next to a very wounded, "Pyrrha…" Yang said slowly as he realized who it was. Yang didn't leave anytime to worry, and ran to Jaune. "What the hell happened!" Yang demanded as Sun and Velvet appeared beside her. Jaune pointed to the figure disappearing at the edge of the forest and Yang, her eyes turning crimson, took off after him; Leaving Sun to help Velvet try and revive Pyrrha.

Yang was angry, _"This son of a bitch thinks he can get away!?" _Yang screamed in her mind,_ "Let's see him try!" _She found Adam stood in a small clearing holding a clearly injured woman with green hair. "Hey!" Yang screamed. The figure turned around slowly. "Hello there." He said nonchalantly, "May I ask what you're doing here?" Yang moved slowly towards him, "I'm here to hurt you, I'm here to make sure you never hurt another one of my friends again, I'm here… to kill you." She said evenly. Adam chuckled which only infuriated her further, What's so funny?" She demanded. Adam's chuckle ended, "Nothing, It's just that I saved your blonde friend a second ago and THIS is the thanks I get?"

Yang stopped, caught off guard by Adam. "The name's Adam Taurus, And she…" Adam said indicating to Emerald, "Knew a certain Roman Torchwick." Yang understood the implication immediately, "You knew Blake?" Yang asked. Adam's was replaced with a slight frown, "Yeah, we were partners before she came here…" He said his voice trailing off towards the end. "The White Fang…" Yang said. Adam nodded, "You see when Blake left… I understood why. I didn't agree with it but I understood." He turned to Yang, "And I'll be damned if the person behind this gets away." Yang watched as a Bulldog appeared above them, "You see, there's one last person I need to deal with." The ship landed behind Adam, and he turned to Yang a final time, "I'm sorry they took her from you." The door on the Bulldog closed, leaving Yang to ponder Adam's words as the ship took off.

**Cinder**

Cinder was in the process of organizing another operation when she felt a light vibration coming from her scroll. She opened it, _"Strange, Emerald rarely does video calls." _Cinder thought. Regardless Cinder answered, confident of their operation's success. Cinder could tell immediately something was wrong. The video showed a dimly lit room, and Cinder could hear the gentle humming of an engine in the background. She felt irritated at the abnormality of the call and was about to speak before the camera moved.

Cinder could feel the rage inside of her grow when she saw the camera. She could plainly see a tied up Emerald sat beside a tall Faunus wearing a mask. "Who the hell are you?" Cinder asked angrily. The faunus boy moved slowly, "My name doesn't particularly matter, Now listen." Cinder frowned at the rudeness of him, "You are going to meet me in the Nova Forest in 2 weeks." Cinder laughed slightly, "And why would I do that?" Adam immediately pulled out a knife, and returned to Emerald's side. "Emerald my dear, whose knife is this?" Emerald's eyes darted to the knife briefly but she remained quiet. After 10 seconds, Adam became annoyed. "Okay then, allow me to rephrase the question." Adam smacked the knife's hilt against Emerald's skull, forcing a small wince from Emerald. "It's Mercury's…" Adam smiled, convinced that she couldn't resist anymore. "Good girl, and how is Mercury?" Emerald paused before addressing Cinder directly, "Mercury's dead."

Cinder's eye twitched involuntarily, but beyond that she didn't react. Adam patted her head, "Good job." He said sarcastically. Adam moved closer to the camera, "I intend to make you suffer Cinder, Mercury was only the beginning." As he said this, Cinder began to think, _"Was he lying?" _Cinder wondered briefly, _"No, Emerald wouldn't lie about this…" _She decided,_ "This faunus bastard is going to pay dearly." _Adam tapped the camera, "Oh and Cinder?" He said coldly. Cinder turned to face the camera and saw Adam move behind Emerald. He forced her head upwards, "This one's for Blake." He quickly slit Emerald's throat. Cinder watched seemingly paralyzed as Emerald's life slowly left her body. Adam smiled crazily before ending the call.

It wasn't often that Cinder unsure of what to do, but now was one such time. In the course of a single day, her two most trusted associates; Her only two friends! Had been cut down by this faunus boy! "All for that stupid faunus girl… DAMMIT ROMAN!" Cinder screamed into the air. Cinder could feel a flame building inside her, "I will end you whoever you are." Cinder decided to forgo her own advice, "And then I'm going to kill all your precious friends at Beacon." Never before had Cinder felt so powerful a rage come over her, and no longer would she allow those troublesome children at Beacon to interfere with her plans, "The world will learn the price for crossing me. And it will start with that faunus boy."

**Author's Note: Wow guys, 2500 Views; This is amazing. I'd like to thank you all for your continued support of this story, it really means alot. When I started writing, I was hoping for maybe 300 views but you guys just blew that out of the water. So again, thank you all for helping me do this. Feel free to leave any suggestions or reviews and again, thank you all.**


	9. The Beast

Chapter 8: The Beast

**Author's Note: This is it guys, the end of Act II. Anyway, due to exams next chapter will be delayed by a week. I'll probably give you some consolation prize as an apology. **

**Also there's a poll on my profile for how you want me to end the story. I already have an idea if you guys don't vote but if you do I'll modify it to fit the category. Don't worry it's vague so no spoilers come from voting.**

**P.S. Anybody wondering why Ozpin's taking Cinder's attacks so personally?**

_**The Next Morning**_

**Ozpin**

Ozpin's mind raced as Yang explained to him what had happened. It had been a long night for teams Juniper and Ruby; as well as Miss Scarlatina and Mister Wukong. Thankfully however, some good news came at the end of the long night, with Miss Nikos stabilizing; In large part to Velvet's and Jaune's efforts. This bit of good news did little however to alleviate Ozpin's worry. _"They attacked a student… IN MY DAMN SCHOOL!" _Ozpin screamed in his head as Yang finished her story. "And he just left, he said there was someone else he needed to take care of." Yang finished nervously, wanting desperately to leave to comfort Pyrrha. Ozpin was eerily silent for almost a minute, and he could see the discomfort Yang felt.

"Adam Taurus you said his name was?" Ozpin said slowly. Yang nodded, "Yes sir, he knew Blake from…" She caught herself. Even now, revealing Blake's secret felt like breaking some kind of promise, "From before she came here." Ozpin frowned at Yang's half truth, "Yes, her time with the White Fang was eventful wasn't it. Attacking trains, never dull is it?" He said with a slight anger to his tone. Yang stared at Ozpin, it never ceased to amaze her how Ozpin seemed to know everything that occurred around him. "Ye… Yes sir." Yang stammered out. Ozpin decided to move on for now, "Miss Xiao Long, you knew Miss Belladonna better than anyone at this school… It seems only right to tell you this." Ozpin paused to collect his thoughts, "As I'm sure you've guessed, Roman wasn't working alone. He had help from a group of people, one woman in particular; Her name is Cinder Fall."

Yang leaned in closely, slightly scared by Ozpin's unusual tone. "She is, without a doubt, one of the most dangerous women in all of Remnant." Yang was surprised, _"How did Roman manipulate her into helping him?" _She wondered. "She is a very smart and powerful woman,." Ozpin's face held a small look of fear, "Mr. Taurus will not survive his battle with her. And I fear that his slaughter of this… Mercury person is only the beginning." Yang was scared now, not by Cinder but by Ozpin's expression describing her; His eyes wouldn't meet Yang's and she could hear the hesitation in his voice when he spoke her name. "She will kill him, and then she will come to destroy us."

Yang's reaction was immediate, "Then we have to help him!" She screamed. Ozpin shook his head slowly, "It is too late; He won't leave this fight and we don't know where they are to help." Yang looked panicked, "But we need to do something!" Ozpin looked at Yang directly in her eyes, "Prepare for war Miss Xiao Long, Prepare your friends to fight for their very survival. That is all you can do." Ozpin said coldly. Ozpin turned away from Yang, "When is Miss Nikos expected to recover?" Yang spoke slowly, shocked by the grim tone of Ozpin, "A few days… Probably four the nurse said." Ozpin didn't smile, "Good, she'll need to be ready. You are dismissed." Yang slowly left the room, unsure what to say to the rest of her friends.

Once Yang left the room, Ozpin moved closer to his desk and grabbed a small whetstone. He separated his cane into two pieces and began to sharpen the blade he had hidden within. Ozpin worked slowly, sharpening the blade until it had a razors edge. As he worked, his eyes gravitated towards a particular picture on his desk; It showed two children, a brother and a sister, sat together around a fire eating smores. A lone tear formed in Ozpin's eye, "Dear sister, how was it you fell so far?"

**Pyrrha**

Pyrrha awoke slowly, wishing almost instantly to return to her dream world. Her chest burnt from the pain as she rose. "Oww…." She said quietly clutching her chest as she rose. The bullet wouldn't have any long term effects the doctors told her, but her body would feel sore for several days. _"Sore was a rather large understatement."_ Pyrrha thought bitterly. But it wasn't the pain that bothered her most, but something even more troubling. This was her fault. Not in the way that she felt responsible for Jaune, but Pyrrha knew that what she was going through was because of her own inattention.

Despite Jaune's relative accuracy in his description of Aura as a "force-field" it still required some amount of focus to use. Pyrrha, as well as almost any hunter/huntress, always readied their Aura before they trained to avoid serious injury. Pyrrha however had been surprised by the two strangers and had forgotten to focus her Aura. In the end, she survived only because of pure luck that Jaune was nearby and such a talented healer. From what he had said, the bullet had pierced an artery in her chest and nearly finished her. Even with Jaune's rapid mending of the severed artery, things didn't look good for her. Thankfully Jaune was able to fend off the strangers before help arrived.

"_How in Dust did he manage that anyway?" _Not that Pyrrha was criticizing Jaune, his skills had developed ten fold since he'd first arrived and could even stand toe to toe with Pyrrha now, but even she was surprised that he was able to defend her against two clearly skilled opponents whilst mending her. The situation struck Pyrrha as odd, and she made a mental note to talk to Yang about it later. For now, Pyrrha did he best to get dressed and checked the time, 11 o'clock. _"Just in time for lunch." _She thought as she left for the cafeteria. Just outside the cafeteria, Pyrrha found Yang muttering worriedly to herself.

She approached her friend, "Yang is something wrong." Yang's head snapped towards Pyrrha surprised, "Oh yeah… Everything's fine." Yang said putting out a clearly fake smile, "C'mon let's grab some lunch." Pyrrha was about to say something before Yang dragged her into the cafeteria and to their friends. Yang quickly disappeared to get food while Pyrrha eyed her suspiciously. _"What's she up to…?" _Pyrrha thought.

Several minutes passed before Yang reappeared, holding a variety food. "Hope you all are hungry!" She said laying out the plates before them. The table shifted under the sudden weight as the group beheld what was before them; "Pancakes for Nora…" She said placing the massive dish before the now squealing girl. "Sushi Rolls for Ren…" Pyrrha watched suspiciously as Yang moved around the table presenting everybody their meals.

Once she finished serving them, Yang spoke quickly. "Alright people, we've got a big day planned." She began, "Once we're done here we're going to Vale for the day, there's a Comic Convention this weekend," Ren, Jaune, Ruby, Velvet, Sun, and even Weiss's ears perked up at that. "So hurry up and finish, we're moving out soon." The entire table, except for Pyrrha, nodded in agreement and quickly wolfed down their meals. Pyrrha meanwhile became even more dedicated to questioning Yang. _"This isn't good." _She thought, _"First the muttering then the food now this…" _She wondered what Yang's goal in all this was. She would have to wait for now as, strangely enough, Ren rushed their team back to their room to get ready.

The red amazonian lagged behind her friends as they rushed off the shuttle into Vale. Pyrrha was hoping to corner Yang and get her to account for her odd behavior today. She had her chance when Yang was grabbing a duffel from under her seat and Pyrrha moved closer. "Hey Yang, need some help?" Pyrrha asked. Yang shook her head and moved forwards, "No. C'mon let's catch up!" She said hurriedly. It was painfully obvious that Yang was avoiding Pyrrha, and the huntress in training would not be so easily shook. Pyrrha rushed to keep up with the Blonde Brawler but this proved difficult with her still recent wound; She eventually slowed and just kept Yang within eyesight. It would be a long day before Pyrrha would have her chance to talk.

_**Seven Hours Later**_

Pyrrha found Yang passed out behind the booth for Strike on Colossus with a Colossus Plushie in her front pocket. Pyrrha resisted the urge to take a picture and began to shake her friend awake. "Wha…?" Yang said battling her sleepiness, *Yawn* "Whas going on, where's Ruby?" Pyrrha helped her blonde friend towards a table, "She's headed back to Beacon with Weiss, Velvet and Jaune. Ren and Nora are…" Pyrrha decided she valued her legs enough not to finish that sentence. It amazed her what Ren was willing to say given enough drinks. "Busy… Anyway, wake up. I need to talk to you." Yang nodded sleepily as Pyrrha handed her a small coffee. "Thanks so what's up?" She asked sipping her drink. Pyrrha was not one to dance around her issues, "Why have you been acting so weird today?" Any sleepiness Yang may have felt disappeared as Pyrrha finished her sentence. She laughed nervously, "What do you mean? I just wanted to treat everyone to…" Her voice trailed off as she noticed the glare Pyrrha had given her. She sighed, "Alright, I suppose I was gonna tell you anyway." The joy disappeared from Yang's face, "I just wanted everyone to have one last perfect day."

Yang's tone worried her, "What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked worriedly, "What's going on?" Yang shook her head, as if trying to convince herself that what Ozpin had told her wasn't true. "I'm sorry Pyrrha…" Yang said quietly. She proceeded to explain to her what Ozpin had told her. Pyrrha looked blankly at Yang once she finished speaking; "So this Adam… He saved Jaune and myself and is going to fight Cinder?" Yang nodded, "Then we need to assist him." She said evenly, fighting back the fury inside her, _"Why in Dust are we here? We need to end this now!" _Pyrrha thought. Yang shook her head, "We can't, Ozpin can't find him and we wouldn't be able to stop him anyway." Yang spoke coldly, "He said that the best we can do is get ready." Pyrrha sat frozen for what felt like an eternity as she considered what Yang told her. _"So the man who saves Jaune and I gets to die instead… What justice is that?" _Pyrrha wondered angrily. The two sat silently for several minutes before Pyrrha spoke, "C'mon, we need to get back. Let's give them one last day of peace." Yang nodded and followed her. _"This is the end…" _Pyrrha thought grimly,_ "No matter what happens, this'll be the end of this nightmare." _

_**The Following Day**_

Pyrrha listened silently as Yang called their teams together, joining them were Velvet and Sun. Pyrrha hadn't slept at all the night before, the wealth of information Yang had given her worried her greatly. She'd spent most of the night cleaning and refining her weapon. From what Yang told her, they only appeared to have a few days before the fighting broke out. Pyrrha watched her friends as Yang told them what was going to happen. The reactions were mostly similar. Ren remained stoically calm but she could see a certain fire in his eyes as Nora clutched her friend nervously.

Next she looked at Jaune, he'd begun clutching his cast unconsciously and his gaze narrowed as Yang spoke. _"Two days Jaune and it'll be off." It's a miracle that it wasn't broken." _Velvet she saw was clutching Sun's hand tightly while Sun listened intently to Yang. The expression on his face was clear. If Cinder so much as threatened Velvet, he would make her beg for mercy.

Finally there were Ruby and Weiss. Weiss held Yang with an icy glare as she listened, clearly angered by being kept in ignorance the previous day. Ruby on the other hand looked very strange. Pyrrha couldn't, in all their time together, ever remember seeing the Red haired girl angry but now it was clear. Her clenched fists and quiet demeanor were good indications, but most foreboding were the girls eyes. They held none of the childish innocence they'd become accustomed to, instead they held a cold cruelty to them. A look of anger, never before felt by the young group agreed to train even harder for Cinder's eventual assault. _"It'll all be over soon," _Yang thought, _"It'll all be over."_

_**12 Days Later**_

**Cinder**

Cinder entered the forest quietly and approached the location sent to her by the faunus boy. The rage that Cinder had felt as she watched him take his friends life only grew with each passing day. She would allow no quarter, she would show no mercy for the faunus. She entered the clearing; _"Strange," _She thought, _"He struck me as the punctual type." _Cinder moved around the forest, looking for anything that may give her an edge. _"No, Snow's too thick here. It'll slow me down as much as him." _She sighed, _"This faunus bastard picked the perfect location." _The snow was too dense for her to move quickly, _"Why did I have to wear these damn heels?" _Cinder wondered angrily. As she wondered this, she heard a faint crushing of snow.

"How nice of you to show…" Cinder said as she began to turn around. She was surprised to see that Adam wasn't there. "Wouldn't miss it for the world…" Adam whispered into her ear. Cinder readied a fireball and turned to face Adam. Again he'd disappeared and Cinder frowned. "You really are slow." Adam taunted. Cinder had had enough and launched a fireball into the direction of Adam's voice. Adam began to laugh as the fireball hit a tree, "I thought this would be a challenge. Oh well…" He said. Cinder's rage finally unleashed itself and she released a massive fireball into the forest. The fire grew quickly and Cinder finally found Adam silhouetted against the orange blaze. "No more shadows to hide behind." Cinder said angrily. "No," Adam said drawing Wilt, "I guess not." Each combatant stood still awaiting the others attack, ultimately it was Adam who struck first.

Adam moved quickly, and swiped his blade towards Cinder. He'd hit her once before she'd even realized how close he was. She was able to summon a glyph to block the remaining barrage but was pushed back several feet. Adam continued to slash at Cinder, each strike more erratic than the last. As they did this, the forest continued to burn around them. After almost 20 seconds of his attack, Cinder was able to fire a small charge at Adam's feet and force him back. He retreated quickly as Cinder sent wave after wave of Pure Inferno after him. He disappeared into the blaze surrounding them and Cinder prepared for another wave of strikes. Instead Cinder heard a loud Crack and felt a bullet whiz past her. She placed another Glyph before her and began to move closer to Adam.

"Can't do much can you?" Adam jested as he fired another round towards her. "C'mon I expected something of a challenge!" He only had a few rounds left and decided to save them for now. He jumped from the tree he was nestled into and darted towards Cinder but slowed as he neared. She was smiling wickedly, and Adam stopped confused. Cinder spoke quietly, "Goodbye." She said as her eyes darted to the ground. Adam looked down and saw the dark markings of a Glyph beneath his feet. "Son of a…" He was launched into the air as Cinder pelted his back with flames. His Aura protected him somewhat but he was thrown into the burning forest. Adam rose slowly, wiping away the small amount of blood from his forehead as Cinder approached. "You think _that's_ gonna finish _me_?" Adam gloated.

"I'll admit, you're stronger than I thought." She said, conjuring another flame, "But not strong enough." She hurled the ball towards Adam. He dove away and fired Blush at Cinder. Cinder was unable to block the round and it connected with her forehead, knocking her back several feet. She recovered quickly and rose. She felt something running across her forehead and touched her fingers to it. The crimson substance was unmistakable, _"How is this… ANIMAL putting up this much of a fight?!" _Adam saw her reaction and chuckled, "Problem? Contemplating your own mortality?" Cinder faced him again, "Yes, not something an animal like YOU would understand!" Adams chuckle died at those words, and he clutched Wilt tightly. "You're going to regret those words…" He said. Cinder smiled and prepared her glyphs. Adam charged laying his entire body into each blow. The glyphs struggled under each strike until finally one shattered, allowing Adam an unhindered strike into Cinder. He held nothing back and struck upwards across her face, knocking her back into the burning forest.

Adam approached quickly, and found Cinder on the ground with a sizable cut beneath her left eye. He heard her groan and smiled, "Don't worry, the pain will be gone in a moment." Adam said as he raised his blade over her. "This is for Blake." Adam said as he brought the blade down onto Cinder. His blade stopped and Adam froze. He saw Cinder smiling as a glyph materialized before Wilt. Adam tried to move but couldn't, "What in Dust…?" He began. Another glyph appeared around Adam and Cinder began to pace around him, "Oh my dear dear faunus, didn't you ever go to school?" She said wiping the blood from her face, "Glyphs can have a variety of effects my dear." She said smiling "From kinetic, to fire, to ice. But I've always enjoyed stasis glyphs…" Adam found he was unable to even speak anymore. "I'm afraid this is where I must depart. This wound, I should really get it looked at. Ta Ta!" Cinder began to leave but turned around as the flames began to surround Adam, "Don't worry… I'll tell your friends at Beacon what became of you." She laughed and walked away, leaving Adam alone as flames surrounded him. His breathing slowed and Adam thought of Blake, _"I'm sorry Blake, I wasn't strong enough…" _One last tear fell from behind his mask as the inferno consumed him

**Author's Note: What a way to go. That was actually quite a lot of fun writing and I hope you all enjoyed it. Next chapter's gonna be delayed due to exams and the like so don't expect a high quality chapter. It's probably just gonna be a note dump for you guys to see how the story evolved from it's earliest form.**

**Also there's a poll up on my profile for you guys to vote on how to end the story. Don't worry it doesn't contain spoilers, I just want to get the general idea of how you guys wanted this story to end. Please vote, review, follow, favorite, and most of all… Enjoy!**


	10. Story Notes (Consolation Chapter)

**Well Guys & Gals seeing as I have exams the week this is going up, I'll be unable to write for a short time. So as a consolation for the absence, here's just a collection of Deleted Scenes, Previews into other stories, story notes, Ect… **

**Sorry for the delay but these exams really are important. Also this gives you guys more time to vote on how to end the story from the survey on my profile. Without further adieu, Enjoy! **

**Again, NONE OF THIS is a part of the main story anymore or it had already been covered. This is just consolation for the lack of a proper chapter.**

**Deleted Scene From Chapter 8: The Beast**

**Yang**

Yang watched her friends rush to their rooms to get ready, and told Ruby and Weiss she would catch up in a bit. Only when she was alone, did she let out a long sigh and sit down. _"It's okay, it can wait another day," _Yang thought, _"One final day… One last bit of happiness before it begins…" _Yang thought quietly. Several tears fell from her lilac eyes, before an unexpected figure stirred her from her thoughts. "Hey," Sky asked quietly, "Is everything okay?" Yang looked at him suspiciously, "What do you care?" She asked. She hadn't forgotten the abuse they'd put Velvet, among others, through for the better part of a year; Nor was she entirely convinced by their change in personality following Jaune and Cardin's standoff in Forever Fall. Sky smiled weakly, "Still don't trust us? I suppose that's fair." He said sitting down beside Yang. "But seriously, I'm here if you wanna talk." Yang remained silent only for Sky to shrug but stay by her.

Another 5 minutes passed before Sky spoke again, "Alright you don't want to talk to me, that's fine. But something's clearly bugging you. You should talk to somebody about it." Sky began to rise only for Yang to grab him by the shoulder. "Sit down." Yang commanded coldly, "I'll tell you but you can't tell ANYONE. Not Dove, Not Russel, Especially Not Cardin." Sky nodded slowly, confused by Yang's oddly serious tone. "Alright, I won't tell a soul." He said. Yang stared him in the eyes and armed Ember Celica, The message was clear; _You're Damn Right You Won't. _He sat and listened intently to Yang as she told him all that had happened over the past few weeks and what Ozpin had told her. When Yang finished speaking, Sky was silent for almost a minute. "Okay." Sky said nodding his head and beginning to rise. "Okay? That's it!?" Yang said, a rage quickly forming inside her. Sky saw this but wasn't worried, "Yeah, I'll get my team ready." Sky stopped her before she yelled, "Don't worry, I won't say why. I'll just say it's for a test or something." He began to walk away but turned to face Yang once again, "From the way you described it this Cinder lady isn't exactly gonna be precise when she attacks. We're all in this together now." Yang felt a pit form in her stomach as he left , "Yeah… I guess we are…" She said to nobody in particular.

**Earliest Notes Regarding Story:**

**Chapter 1:**

Cinder is scaring Roman for info regarding events of season 1 finale

Cinder plans on killing ruby, sun and blake specifically

Jaune loves Pyrrha and is trying to will himself to say so (Pyrrha also loves Jaune)

Fire lady attacks group in city (not beacon) as team JNPR arrives

Pyrrha and Nora go to evacuate civilians as Ren and jaune assist ruby and co.

Nora reveals Jaune loves Pyrrha who then goes to help jaune and co.

Massive fight between roman with white fang and protagonists

**Chapter 2:**

Fire lady is impatient and goes to finish off ruby who is fighting white fang

Jaune tries to save Ruby but is mortally injured by Roman

Pyrrha saves injured ruby and helps force white fang and company away

Pyrrha watches Jaune die from wounds and they tell each other their love (Also tell Ruby not to blame herself before she runs after Roman)

**Chapter 3:**

3 Weeks Pass and Ruby has collapsed from guilt over Jaune's death and Pyrrha has shutdown from grief

Yang, Blake, Sun, Weiss, Ren, and Nora are unsure what to do and look to professor Ozpin for help

Ozpin reveals he knew Jaune lied to get into Beacon but had faith in his abilities, blames himself for Jaune's death. Encourages group to seek out those truly responsible for the death rather than shut down like Pyrrha

**Chapter 4:**

Everyone (Except Pyrrha and Ruby) begin to search for leads to Roman and Fire Lady

Pyrrha viciously attacks Cardin for bullying Velvet showing her fragile state of mind

Roman and fire lady meet and discuss plans regarding Ruby, Blake, and Sun. Fire lady gloats that they've done something worse than kill ruby and that they only need to kill one of the 2 remaining to destroy them.

**Additional Notes:**

Stasis Glyphs?

Imply White Rose but never directly state

Possible Renora?

Pyrrha kills Roman

Bumblebee or BlakeXSun Ship

Kill Blake eventually (Possibly Sun if BlakexSun)

Get someone to design Silent-Night

Keep an eye on Grand Theft RWBY for (Project Name Withdrawn)

**Excerpt From Team FRTN (W.I.P. OC Story)**

Anna watched as the large hunter handled the bullies. When he had finally driven them away, he replaced his weapon and turned to her. "Are you okay?" He asked, extending his hand to her. Anna reached nervously, "Yes I think so, Thank you." She said. Reaver watched as the two boys continued to walk away, "It's not a problem, my name's Reaver by the way." He said. "Anna," She said with some relief, "Anna Tränen." Reaver helped her to her feet, "Well Anna, any idea why were those two bugging you?" Reaver asked concerned. Her eyes darted to her feet and she shifted uncomfortably for a short time. "I'm a Faunus," she said ashamedly, "Those two boys must have seen the indent in my shirt and…" She turned around revealing her ripped apart shirt as well as two intricate butterfly wings.

**Well guys, sorry for the non story-based chapter, but it's the best I could do this week. The next proper chapter will be up Sunday. Anyway, if you have any notes on what I put up here feel free to message me privately. As always, I hope you enjoyed.**


	11. The Calm

RWBY: Vengeance

Chapter 9: The Calm

* * *

_**Three Weeks Later**_

**Ozpin**

Today was going to be a very long day… Ozpin sipped his morning coffee as he scanned his scroll for any relevant news. One particular story caught his eye, **"Body Identified In Mysterious Nova Forest Fire, Signs of Foul Play"**. Ozpin observed the story quickly, _"It's probably nothing…" _Ozpin hoped. Ozpin opened the article regardless, _"They wouldn't write a full article unless it was unusual." _He decided. He was not disappointed. Ozpin read the article slowly, pausing slightly at one part,

_Reports indicate signs of foul play surrounding the victim, burn patterns have indicated that the victim was forcibly restrained though no apparent binding have been found. Police suspect the use of stasis glyphs. Signs of a struggle are prevalent as the victim appeared to have several shattered ribs as well as…_

Ozpin began to rub his eyes as he finished reading, _"That was always her, always had a passion for the damn things." _Ozpin bitterly remembered the times his sister had frozen him in place as a joke. He chuckled slightly, _"Though when she trapped Peter outside the locker room that was pretty funny." _Ozpin's smile faded and was replaced with a sad look, "Where does the time go?" He wondered, "One day we're going to be protectors of the realm and then… POOF! Everything's gone to hell." Ozpin recognized his sister's handiwork very easily, the fire, the stasis glyphs, the lack of any evidence, everything indicated it was her but Ozpin refused to proceed until he knew one last thing.

He began to make a call, "Hello?" The man on the other end answered, "What is it Ozpin?" Ozpin cleared his throat and spoke evenly, "Fuchs, have you identified the victim from the Nova Forest fire?" There was a short sigh, "You know I can't tell…" Ozpin cut his friend off, "I need to know Hugo, it's important." The officer was silent for a moment before he sighed, "Yes we have, the victim was a Faunus by the name of Adam Taurus." Ozpin's blood chilled, "Nothing official with him, but he's suspected to be a member of the White Fang and behind that train heist a few months back." The line was silent for several seconds, "Thank you Erik, tell Siv I said hello." "Wait, Ozpin, why is this so important?" The police lieutenant demanded, concerned for his friend. Ozpin stared silently at the picture on his desk for almost a minute, "Hope to Dust you don't find out." He said, ending the connection between the two.

Ozpin stared blankly at the wall for several minutes before he reacted, "So it begins…" Ozpin said sighing. Ozpin looked at the picture on his desk once more before he began to call Glynda, "Glynda, please send Miss Xiao Long, Miss Nikos, and Lie Ren to my office as soon as possible." He asked calmly. "Of course sir." She replied, she didn't end the call immediately, "It's almost time isn't it?" Ozpin felt a weight form in his stomach, "Yes Glynda, please alert Professors Port, Peach, and Oobleck as well." Ozpin felt his grip tighten around his cane as he said this. "It will be done." Glynda said before disconnecting. It was rare that Ozpin didn't address the professors by their first names, _"Dust help us if things are as bad as he fears." _Goodwitch thought. Ozpin prepared another pot of coffee and observed the picture once more, "Perhaps…" Ozpin said as a tear formed in his eye, "Perhaps in another life I would have been strong enough to stop you before this began." He battled away the tears that formed, "I'm sorry Cinder, I'm sorry I let this happen." Ozpin felt several tears fall onto his face, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you." He said, placing the picture face down onto his desk.

**Yang**

Yang, Pyrrha, Ruby, Weiss, and Jaune were together eating lunch, enjoying a quiet conversation regarding Professor Oobleck. The group was still nervous about Cinder, but had relaxed a great deal as time went on. It had helped that classes had finally resumed for the two teams. "Have you ever seen him walk normally?" Jaune asked the group."It's the coffee." Ruby said confidently. "Don't be ridiculous," Weiss countered, "What coffee can make you _that _energetic?" Ruby glared at Weiss, "It's true! He held me back after class to trade recipes!" Weiss raised her eyebrow at her, "Really? Over a Cream and Five Sugars?" Ruby stammered, "I may have… Enhanced it since then." Weiss and Pyrrha's eyes narrowed eyes narrowed, "What do you mean by enhanced?" They asked. Ruby was silent for a moment, "Dust helps make really good Ice Coffee…" She said blushing.

The group stared at Ruby's revelation, "HOW CAN YOU BE SO…" Weiss began screaming. Jaune began to whisper into Pyrrha's ear, "So… We never give Nora Ruby's coffee?" Pyrrha silently nodded before giggling, "Wanna see what it does to Ren?" She asked. Jaune smiled and the two began to laugh. "See what, What does to Ren?" The green gunslinger said appearing behind them. Jaune jumped slightly, "N-Nothing Ren, just wanted to see if you wanted to try some coffee." Jaune said trying to cover for the pair. It was Ren's turn to smile, "Ah yes, Ruby's dust coffee." He said grinning slightly, "I prefer when she uses red dust, it gives it that extra OOMPH!" Ren finished, grunting as Nora leaped into his lap, "What gives what an extra push Ren?" She asked. The look of fear on his face was subtle but apparent, "N-Nothing Nora, just thinking of trying a new syrup recipe. Right Jaune?" He begged his friend. Jaune nodded quickly, he was terrified to see what would happen if Nora were to get a hold of normal Coffee, let alone a pot of Ruby's.

Yang meanwhile was trying to pry a crazed Weiss off of Ruby. "Weiss just calm down!" She said trying to stifle a laugh, "It's not a big deal!" Weiss tuned her out and continued to attack Ruby. Yang eventually let go and watched as Weiss pounced on her sister, ignoring the large Bambi eyes begging forgiveness. "Weiss I'm sorrrrry!" Ruby begged. Weiss was directly on top of Ruby and about to scream before Yang quietly spoke, "Sheesh Weiss, I know she's cute but we're right here."

Weiss froze at Yang's comment, "What?" She said confusedly, "Besides…" Yang continued, "You could at least buy her dinner first." A large red blush covered the heiress's face as she registered what Yang said, "I… You… You fiend!" Weiss said rushing towards their dorm, face redder than Ruby's cloak. Ruby watched Weiss run away before turning to Yang, "WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT!?" Ruby screamed, looking in the direction Weiss had run off towards, "I'll be right back!" She said quickly running towards the heiress. As the crimsonette disappeared, Professor Goodwitch appeared. "Miss Nikos, Miss Xiao Long, Mr Ren, I need the three of you to follow me please." The trio looked to each other curiously and rose. "This will only take a short time." She said exiting the cafeteria with Yang, Pyrrha, and Ren in tow leaving both Jaune and Nora confused.

* * *

_**15 Minutes Later, Outside Ozpin's Office**_

* * *

Professor Goodwitch led Yang and company to Ozpin's office quickly with an unusual hurry in her stride. "Professor Ozpin is waiting for you now." She said as she hurried away to her Advanced Dust Application class. They watched the sorceress depart and Ren began to reach for the handle to Ozpin's office before Yang pushed his hand away, "Wait, before we go in let's try to get an idea of what's going on." Pyrrha and Ren nodded and began to brainstorm for a few minutes, "Well I've got nothing." Yang said after scanning the dustnet for any relevant stories. "Neither do I." Ren said. The trio considered their next move briefly before a calm voice broke the silence. "I've often found that headlines are… Inaccurate in terms of actual content." The trio turned to see Ozpin stood before them holding the door to his office open. "Would you all care to find out what it is I meant to speak to you about?" He asked. Yang, Pyrrha, and Ren nodded as they followed Ozpin, each taking one of the three seats.

Ozpin sipped at his drink, "Adam Taurus was found dead two nights ago." He said flatly, "For your sake Mr. Ren, he is the man who saved Miss Nikos life several weeks ago." Yang and Pyrrha felt a small pang of guilt form, _"Maybe I should have gone with him." _Yang thought, _"He seemed capable enough, maybe we could have taken him down together." _Ozpin rose from his desk and turned away from the three students, facing the window overlooking Beacon, "He was burnt alive in the Nova Forest three weeks ago and authorities have only just identified his remains." Pyrrha felt sick, _"So he saves me and this is his reward? What justice is this?" _She thought sadly. "I believe Miss Fall is behind his death, it matches several patterns known to her as well as Mr. Taurus's personal vendetta…" He sighed and sipped at his coffee. He turned around and saw Yang holding something, his eyes widened and he felt a rage from within course through him as he identified what it was.

Yang meanwhile began to look around the office, it was larger than she'd expected. That was when Yang saw the picture face down on the desk. Normally Yang wouldn't have touched Ozpin's personal items, but something about this picture had an odd calling to it. Yang saw Ozpin was still facing the window talking, "...as well as Mr…" Yang quietly grabbed the picture and turned it around to face her, she was surprised but unsure why, it was all around a normal picture. _"Is that Ozpin?"_ She wondered, _"If so then who's…?" _Yang's thoughts were interrupted as the picture was ripped from her hands. She turned to face the "thief" and saw a visibly angered Ozpin holding the picture.

Ozpin slammed the picture down quickly, "I'd appreciate it Miss Xiao Long…" Ozpin said with a quiet rage in his voice, "If you could focus on something besides my personal life." Yang sank into her chair, It wasn't often that Ozpin moved beyond his slow stride, and it was rarer that he became angry. "S-Sorry Sir." Ozpin glared at Yang for another 10 seconds, "Thank you, Now…" He said moving towards his desk again, watching Yang angrily, "I believe that she will move to attack your teams within the coming days, I would like you three to deliver the news."

Pyrrha nodded before leading Ren out the door leaving Yang alone with Ozpin, Yang began to follow but Ozpin motioned for her to stop, "I also would advise you to warn Mr. Wukong and Miss Scarlatina, it is likely that Mr. Wukong is in danger and Miss Scarlatina by association." Yang tried to move but felt a small amount of guilt over the picture, she sighed before turning to face Ozpin once again. "Yes Miss Xiao Long?" Ozpin asked rather coldly, refusing to make eye contact with her. "I-I'm sorry for touching you picture." Ozpin turned away from the brawler, "Please leave." Ozpin deadpanned, silencing Yang. She nodded and followed her friends, _"Who is that in the picture?" _She wondered.

**Cinder:**

Cinder rubbed her eye, _"When I said I should get this looked at, I wasn't being serious!" _She complained mentally. That faunus boy it seems would continue to mock her even from beyond the grave. The deep cut Cinder had received in her duel with Adam several weeks prior had left a small but noticeable scar beneath her left eye. _"Damn animal…" _She thought bitterly before smiling, _"At least he won't be bothering anyone else." _She laughed slightly, _"He could've beaten me," _She admitted, _"If only he hadn't let things get personal." _Cinder laughed at the faunus, his inability to control his emotions (She ignored the irony) had cost him his life. "And soon your friends lives as well." Cinder had no doubt that she would emerge victorious, _"The only reason that the faunus boy had come close was because I'd baited him."_ She thought, "I won't make that mistake again." She said sitting down at the table.

She saw the man she was looking for appear soon after. "I see the repairs are coming along well." She said civilly. "Yeah, we're expecting to open back up by the end of the month." Junior said proudly. Cinder smiled, "That's good, how are Melanie and Miltia?" Cinder had a strange respect for the two girls, _"Their attitude could use some work but when they fought… It was like an elaborate dance, so fluid and effortless."_ "They're fine." He said, his voice turning serious, "Now cut to the chase Cinder, what do you want?" Cinder's fake smile disappeared, she'd forgotten how smart Junior actually was. _"A bit impulsive though," _She thought observing the damage the club had sustained. "Well Junior, I need you to find something… Shall we say elusive." Junior smiled, "You came to the right place, what is it you need? I'll get my people on it right awa…" He stopped talking as Cinder handed over a schematic. The two were silent for almost a minute, "Cinder… Why would you need this?" He asked. He was less worried for it's victims and more so in being implicated.

"It's better that you don't ask." Cinder replied sweetly, "Now can you get it?" Junior gulped, "Y-yes, I think so," He said nervously, "It… It won't be easy but I can. It won't be cheap though." Cinder smiled, "Good, I'll need it soon." Junior breathed easier, "Yeah…" He said as he made a call to an associate of his. The talked for several minutes before Junior faced Cinder once again, "It's all set up, I can get you it within 3 weeks." A small flame alerted him to Cinder's impatience. Junior brushed the small sparks embers littering his suit off before he turned to his phone once more. "Actually I think I'll need it within the week." Junior took the lack of flames as approval. He rose quickly to organize the shipment, "Cinder… You gotta understand one thing," He began, "This thing, from what I understand, won't work indefinitely. You get a max of… 4 hours before it needs to cool down." Cinder turned to face the wannabe gangster, "Don't worry Junior, Four hours is all I'll need." Cinder turned to leave the club leaving Junior alone to worry, _"What the hell is she planning that she needs THIS?"_

**Yang:**

Yang decided to tell Sun and Velvet while Ren and Pyrrha handled the rest of their teams. She neared the guest dorm Sun was staying in for the time being. She heard a squeal of joy come from the hallway Sun's room was down and saw Velvet sprinting away. Yang was about to stop her before she saw Sun chasing after her, "Wait Velvet! I OOMPH…!" Sun said as he ran into Yang. "Going somewhere?" She asked jokingly. Sun rolled his eyes as Yang helped him to his feet, "Yeah, I gotta catch up to Velvet." Yang smiled and started walking after the bunny girl with Sun, "What about?" She noticed Sun became eerily quiet, "Sun…?" She asked, turning to see Sun stood still with a guilty look written across his face. "I'm leaving Beacon for a little while." He said, "It'll be a week or so before I get back."

Yang frowned, "Why…?" She thought, remembering what Ozpin had said about Cinder. He smiled slightly, "My brother's getting married, and seeing as that tournament is on indefinite delay…" Yang's eyes darted away, remembering the dance all those months ago, "I figured now would be the best time to go." Yang eyed Sun cooly, deciding not to mention Cinder… Yet. "And Velvet…?" She asked. Sun rubbed the back of his neck, "Everyone's expected to bring a date and…" His voice trailed off. Yang was quiet for a short time before smiling, "That's great!" She said surprising both herself and Sun. "You'd better take pictures!" She ordered the faunus boy.

Sun smiled, glad that he'd avoided the brawler's legendary rage. "Yes Ma'am." He said saluting, "Don't worry we'll be back soon." His eyes darted around the hall before he spoke again, "So…" He said whispering, "Any word on Cinder?" Time slowed for Yang as she considered her response. On one hand Sun was one of the group's better fighters and he'd probably want to stay and fight.

"_But Velvet…" _Yang thought. Yang knew the danger Velvet would be in, she wasn't the best of fighters and usually served to support her team mates rather than face the enemy head on. _"Could I risk her just so Sun stayed?" _Yang thought quickly. "Yang?" Sun said snapping his fingers, "Yang! You okay?" Yang shook herself from her daze, "Hmm? Yeah I just zoned out. What did you say?" She asked. "I said did you hear anything about Cinder?" Yang made her decision.

"Oh no, nothing yet." She lied, "Don't worry about it. I'll call you guys if we do." Sun sighed in relief, "Alright good, I was worried. Anyway, If you'll excuse me I gotta catch up to Velvet." Sun said running off after the Bunny Girl. _"We'll be fine." _Yang told herself, _Besides, now they're safe." _Yang thought walking away, certain she'd made the right decision. She sent a quick message to Pyrrha and made her way back to her team's dorm. Pyrrha received the message just before she fell asleep, "Sun and Velvet are taken care off." Pyrrha decided she'd find Yang tomorrow and ask her what else they'd need to do.

* * *

**Author's Note: Next chapter will be the Final Chapter or Beginning of the Finale.**

**Ahh screw it, let's get the last of exposition out of the way now. Shall we?**

* * *

_**The Following Morning**_

Yang hugged Velvet goodbye, "Have fun Velvs, We'll see you back in a week." Velvet smiled at Yang, "Thank you, I'll try but I dunno…" She said darting her eyes making sure Sun wasn't around, "I might try to steal the groom." She snickering. Yang and Velvet laughed as she helped her with her bags. They waited for Sun to arrive with the last of their things and Yang decided to have some fun, "So…" Yang said, "You and Sun all alone…" Velvet started blushing, "We'll be with his family most of the time…" She stammered out. Yang grinned, she loved toying with Velvet, "Only most of the time? Velvet you dirty girl." Velvet couldn't control herself and burst out into a nervous giggle as Sun arrived, "Morning ladies, I see you're both getting a lot done." He said watching a blushing Velvet and giggling Yang. "Of course, we're team players Sunny Boy." Yang said. A faint booing could be heard in the distance as Sun moved the last of the bags, "Well in any case that's everything."

"See you guys in a week!" The blonde said as the two boarded. Velvet waved goodbye to her friend as the ship took off leaving, Yang alone before another figure approached, "Well I guess you weren't lying." Pyrrha said with a small hint of anger in her tone. Yang ignored the hostility in her tone, "I don't care, the two of them are safe." She replied evenly. "And what about us?" Pyrrha demanded. Yang took a minute before responding, "We were never gonna be safe," She said, "Sun and Velvet wouldn't have made much of a difference." Pyrrha and Yang stood together in silence as the ship disappeared into the horizon, "C'mon," Pyrrha said, the irritation fading from her voice, "Let's get breakfast."

**5 Days Later**

**Cinder**

"Come along now Junior," Cinder said, "We're short on time." There was a short grunt from Junior and his men as the finished moving the heavy device. "Alright there you go," Junior said breathing heavily, "It's all prepped you just need to turn it on." He handed her a remote. "Again this thing doesn't work for too long so whatever you're doing, make it fast." Cinder took the remote and smiled, "Good, thank you Junior. Now for your payment…" She said handing him a small card, This should more than adequately cover any costs." Junior took the card cautiously and began to walk back into the damaged club. Cinder boarded the Bullhead, "Oh tomorrow is going to be such an interesting day." As the ship began to take off she smiled, "Dear brother, I hope that time hasn't dulled your senses. I wish to enjoy this fight."

* * *

**Author's Note: Boom! No more damn exposition! The story's finally nearing the finale! I'm really excited for how I'm going to end it and I hope y'all are as well! As always, thank you all so much for reading, feel free to leave any criticism or praise, and thank you all for helping me to write this story.**

**Also before I forget, I'm thinking of writing a separate story for Sun & Velvet's time away. If anybody wants to see that, please message me or say so in a review. In any case, I've typed enough for one night. So thank you all so much for your support and I hope you all enjoyed.**

**-Cardinal67**


	12. The Storm (Part 1)

Chapter 10: The Storm (Part 1)

**Author's Note: Fuck it, early chapter this week. I'm on a creative roll! Also a small typo in the last chapter, I meant to say four hours before the machine needed to cool down.**

* * *

_**The Next Day**_

**Ozpin:**

Ozpin sipped his coffee slowly as he stood atop the tower overlooking Beacon. He'd needed a moment alone today, somewhere deep in his mind he knew, today was the day. He stood silently watching his prestigious academy, marveling in its beauty. _"Maybe one day I'll be able to come back here." _The aged educator thought sadly, _"One day when this is all over." _He'd instructed Glynda not to interrupt him today, nor were Professors Peach, Oobleck, or Port to contact him. He needed to be alone this day. One day to finish preparing. "One day to…" The words caught in his throat, he couldn't bring himself to speak them.

"To say goodbye?" A voice asked from behind him. Ozpin's grip tightened around his cane but he remained silent, "What?" The voice asked, "No hello? No witty remarks? You've changed… Brother." Cinder moved beside Ozpin, each overlooking the combat academy beneath them. "Hello sister." Ozpin said distantly, "What brings you here, you rarely visit." Cinder smiled and paced around the grey-haired man, "Oh you know…" She said lightly grabbing his cheek, "Murder, Sabotage, Revenge." Ozpin resisted an urge to speak as Cinder sat down beside her brother, "I visited Qrow, He was doing well."

She produced a bloodied chess king and set it beside Ozpin, "Was." Ozpin took the bloody piece with a trembling hand, "Did he…" His voice was shaky, "Did he fight well?" Cinder smiled, "Fairly," She said nonchalantly, "Less well than the Taurus fellow." Ozpin sighed and turned to face her, "How long?" He asked, darkly staring down his sister. "Everything is already underway." She replied, "Within three hours, your dear, dear students will lay baking in the sun." Ozpin had heard enough and withdrew his sword from his cane, "No." He said cooly, "This ends here." Cinder rose from her seat, cracking her neck and fingers, "It's already too late dear brother," A high-pitched whine began, "Everything has already begun. Now," She said readying a fireball, "Shall we?" Ozpin looked at the girl he'd once called a sister in disgust, "I am not your brother anymore." He said charging towards the sorceress.

* * *

**Yang:**

It didn't start quite how Yang had expected. She was expecting something along the lines of an explosion, maybe an army approaching from the horizon; But instead it began with her, Ruby, and Weiss outside the training room when high pitch noise began to broadcast all around Beacon. The trio stood confused by the electrical whine for a short time. Yang's eyes widened with worry. She quickly grabbed her scroll and began to call Team JNPR. Jaune and Pyrrha were the first to answer, "What's up Yang? What's with…" Jaune began. "It's happening." Yang said just short of a scream. Only a few seconds passed as Jaune and Pyrrha realized what Yang meant.

"Where are Ren and Nora?" Yang asked panicked. "Professor Port sent them into the Emerald Forest. Something about collecting Grimm tissue for study…" Pyrrha said very disconnectedly. _"Dust No…" _Pyrrha prayed. There was a moment of silence between the 5 friends, "Get your weapons ASAP," Yang ordered, "I'll find Ren and Nora." Ruby tried to say something but Yang was already gone.

* * *

**Ren:**

Ren was silently following Nora into the Emerald Forest. Nora was being her usual hyperactive self; running around, chasing butterflies, and overall enjoying herself. Ren was doing his best to keep up with his partner, a sly smile across his face. _"She's never in a bad mood." _Ren thought happily, glad to have her as a partner. She may occasionally bother the green gunslinger, but Ren wouldn't have traded Nora for anybody. She was too special to him. She was his first friend, she'd always been there with him. _"Hell,"_ Ren thought, _"Whoever she marries is a lucky man." _He felt a wave of jealousy come over him as he thought this, _"No," _he thought, _"We're just friends, that's all she wants." _The thought bothered him more than he was willing to admit, _"Just shut up about it." _Ren reminded himself,_ "It'll just make things weird between us."_

* * *

**Nora:**

"_Just friends…" _Nora thought sadly, _"Just friends."_ Unbeknownst to Ren, Nora was undergoing very similar thoughts. _"Maybe I should mention it subtly?" _A small voice in Nora's head thought. _"NO!" _Another voice called out, _"It's just gonna screw things up if I try." _Nora was almost 100 feet ahead of Ren she saw, "I'm just being selfish, Better to stay quiet." She said quietly but sadly. As Ren neared, she plastered on a fake smile, "C'mon Ren, I think I heard some Ursa up ahead!" Ren took a minute to catch his breath as Nora lead herself against Magnhild. "Getting tired Ren?" Nora asked competitively.

* * *

**Ren:**

"Not a chance." Ren said regaining his composure. Suddenly a high-pitched whine could be heard overhead, "What in Dust is that?" Ren said covering his ears. Whatever it was, it was close. Ren turned his head and saw Nora had run off again, "Ren c'mon!" She screamed, ignoring the irritating tone, "I think I found some Ursa!" Ren decided to ignore the odd noise for now, _"It can wait." _He decided as he ran to catch up to Nora. He found Nora again within a minute and found she had been right, ahead of the two were three Ursi.

The duo was about to strike when suddenly the three beasts charged them. One slammed Nora backwards into a tree while the other two focused on Ren. _"WHAT THE HELL!" _Ren screamed internally, _"HOW THE HELL DID THEY FIND US!?" _The two Ursi moved quickly, one tackling Ren to the ground while the other tried to charge the staggering boy. Ren dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the monstrous beast. He turned to see Nora giving him a thumbs up, charging at the isolated beast. _"Thank Dust." _He thought. He almost pitied the poor thing, it had no idea who it had just picked a fight with. Ren meanwhile turned to face his two challengers and quickly withdrew StormFlower, waiting for the creatures to charge. The one on the left moved first. It charged as Ren jumped, stabbing StormFlower's blades into it's back. The creature roared in pain as Ren removed one blade and began to fire into the creature's exposed flesh. As he was doing this, the other moved, tackling it's brother as well as Ren with enough force to throw Ren and the Ursa he was riding back several feet. Ren moved only just quickly enough to avoid being crushed by the large animal and turned to face the remaining Grimm.

Ren reloaded his weapon and began to pace around the creature. _"C'mon you bastard…" _Ren thought, _"Just try it." _The weakened gunslinger inched closer, aiming for the Ursa's eyes. The creature, as if sensing Ren's plan, charged suddenly. Ren was prepared this time however and managed to plant one of his blades into the Ursa's eyes. The creature reared upwards in pain and Ren took this moment to fire several rounds into the Ursa's neck. The creature blindly slashed and managed to hit Ren, giving him a deep cut across his chest. _"Oh no." _Ren thought, realising how low his Aura must have been. "Nora!" He yelled, seeing the Valkyrie had just finished her target. "Yeah?" She asked. Ren smiled, "Blow him away!" Nora smiled deviously as she turned Magnhild into it's Grenade launcher form. "With pleasure." She took aim at the wounded creature's chest and fired.

The Ursa was thrown backwards and Ren moved forward to retrieve his other pistol. "Thank you Nora." He said as he inspected the weapon. _"Nothing too serious," _He thought, replacing the pistols into his sleeve. Next he looked at the cut along his chest. It luckily wasn't very deep but it stretched across most of his abdomen, "Well that's gonna leave a scar." Ren turned to Nora, "C'mon Nora, we'd better go." A mock look of sadness appeared across her face, "Aww, You sure?" She asked. "Yeah…" Ren said looking at the cut across his chest. He pulled out his scroll to check his aura when he saw a missed call from Yang. He was about to call her back when he felt something hit him and his body slam into a tree. He smashed against a particularly strong branch and felt several ribs crack. He turned slowly and saw the Ursa from before, it's eye still bleeding, "Didn't I kill you?" Ren asked weakly.

* * *

**Nora:**

"REN!" Nora screamed. She saw the pink haired boy smash into the tree and felt a fury build within her. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" The pink Valkyrie screamed at the bear like creature, reverting her weapon to it' hammer form, "YOU. WILL. NOT. HURT. MY. RENNY." She screamed, speaking between each strike. The creature collapsed, "Oh no…" Nora said darkly, "You don't get off that easily." She walked slowly towards the dying creature and raised her war-hammer, "FORE!" The Ursa's head snapped upwards as the hammer connected. Nora smiled crazily before remembering her fallen friend. "Ren…" She said slowly. "REN!" Nora screamed as she neared him. Ren did not look good. The large cut across his chest had widened and she saw deep cuts across his face. His face was bloodied and his breathing slow, he'd definitely broken several ribs. "Nora…" Ren said tiredly, "Call for help." Nora felt tears running down her face, "Okay." She said whimpering, looking desperately for Ren's scroll. She found it in pieces surrounding the spot where the Ursa had connected with Ren. "Ren I… I can't…Your scroll it's… It's broken." She said, her voice breaking. "Where's yours?" He asked, "I… I forgot it." Nora said the tears streaming across her face. "That's okay," Ren said weakly, there was no anger in his voice. "Can you at least sit with me?"

Nora nodded slowly and nestled herself beside her injured friend. His breathing was slowed but steady, _"That's a good thing right? Right!?" _Nora thought, begging that it was true. "Don't worry Nora, everything will be fine." He said trying to console his friend. _"Even in pain he's still looking out for me."" _Nora thought before pulling him into a gentle hug, "Please don't die. I'll never forgive you if you do!" She said in an odd mix between an order and beg. Ren stroked the ginger hair girl's head lightly, feeling his strength fading away, "I'll try my best." He said with a weak chuckle. She felt his body slump slightly as he finished speaking. Nora sat frozen in place, paralyzed in fear, "Ren?" She asked, shaking her friend lightly, "REN!?" No response.

* * *

**Yang:**

"_Where are they?!" _Yang screamed internally. She'd been following Ren's scroll's signal for the last five minutes before it disappeared from her screen. She took off into a sprint towards the direction she remembered the signal pointing towards, _"At least that damn noise is gone."_ Yang thought angrily. She continued running towards signal's last location. She paused briefly as she heard Nora's screams, "No…" She said quietly but angrily, "Not them." It only took five more minutes to find them but what Yang saw when she arrived chilled her to the core. She saw a beaten and bloodied Ren lain against a tree with a whimpering Nora nestled close. "Nora!" Yang screamed running to her friends. "Yang…" Nora said quietly, her usually jovial mood gone. "C'mon," the blonde fighter said, picking Ren up over her shoulder, "Let's get out of here." Nora followed closely, refusing to leave Ren's side.

Another 10 minutes passed before Nora and Yang managed to rush Ren to the infirmary. Ren was immediately taken away for surgery leaving the two alone until Professor Port arrived. "What happened?" The large man asked Nora. Nora was sat in fetal position and was only able to respond with, ""Ren got hurt." before she felt the familiar tears stream across her face once again. Port turned to Yang who gave him a 'Go the fuck away' glare. Port decided to alert the other staff of Ren's injuries and left quickly after speaking briefly with the lead surgeon. Several minutes passed before Professor Oobleck appeared.

The speedy professor approached Nora with an unusual slowness about him, "Ms. Valkyrie are you okay?" He asked comfortingly, "What happened?" Nor again responded with 'Ren got hurt' but Oobleck stayed nearby, "How did Ren get hurt?" He asked, helping the ginger haired girl to her feet. Nora tried to stifle her tears, "We… we were doing a mission for Professor Port and… We saw Three Ursi. They… They were stronger than usual. They managed to lower his Aura and one caught him off guard and…" Nora stammered her report out to the green haired professor, before bursting into more tears. The coffee lover kneeled before Nora and took her hand gently, stemming the flow of tears somewhat, "Thank you child." He said, "Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be alright." Nora was silenced for the moment by the professor's unusually slow and gentle nature. "Thank you." She said quietly as Oobleck let go of her hand and began to leave.

Oobleck passed Yang and paused, "Your friends… They're strong. But remember that there is a limit to what one may take." Yang tucked her arms to her side, "Ren's strong, he'll be fine." Oobleck looked back at the broken-down Valkyrie, "I wasn't talking about him." He said walking away. Yang looked at Nora quickly, only just taking in the pain she was in. She sat beside her and the two waited for their teams together.

Yang left Nora's side as the rest of team JNPR arrived. With them were Weiss and Ruby. "What happened?" The crimsonette asked. Yang turned to make sure Nora was out of earshot, "Ren got hurt, badly." She turned again to see Pyrrha consoling the pink clad Valkyrie, "I don't know how serious, but it did not look good." Ruby moved quickly towards Nora with Weiss to console her while Yang took a walk outside. She checked her clock, 11:17. _"Not even noon and everything's gone to hell."_

* * *

**Author's Note: Well People, will Ren live or die? That my dear readers, is all decided by the flip of a coin.**

**-Cardinal67**

* * *

**Glynda:**

Glynda Goodwitch was not an easy woman to surprise, her logical demeanor, coupled with her natural skill at reading people, allowed her to normally anticipate even the most unlikely of situations. This was not one of those situations. Though uncommon, it wasn't unheard of for a student to be seriously injured during a routine training mission. What did surprise her, was what student it was. Lie Ren was, in her humble opinion, one of the better hunters currently attending Beacon. Even for a first year, his ability to analyze a situation and react placed him leagues ahead of many second and third years, as well as a select few fourth years. Nora Valkyrie on the other hand was not one such person. She acknowledged the huntress-in-training's skills in combat but that did little to make up for her poor tactical sense. As soon a she'd heard of Ren's injuries, she'd assumed Nora's incompetence had been the cause.

What shocked her however was not Ren's injuries, but rather what she colleague believed to have caused them. "An Ursa?" Glynda asked in disbelief, "Ridiculous Bartholomew, Lie Ren has shown himself more than capable of dispatching several Ursi alone. It is likely Miss Valkyr…" Oobleck stopped her, "No Glynda. It was not Miss Valkyrie's incompetence," Oobleck said angrily, "It was indeed an Ursa that caused these injuries. Though something unusual is apparent in these." Glynda listened closely, she'd learned it best not to interrupt her colleague when he started on such a topic, "From Miss Valkyrie's report, these three Ursi were abnormally strong and almost strategic in their movements." Glynda doubted the validity of Nora's report but decided to press the issue later,

"Mister Ren and Miss Valkyrie encountered these Grimm around 10:47 correct?" Oobleck asked. A simple nod sufficed, "Well then, at that time an unusual noise could be heard around the grounds for several minutes." Goodwitch began to piece what Oobleck was saying together, "Bartholomew… I hope you aren't being serious." Oobleck shook his head sadly, "I'm afraid I am, I believe that somebody had activated a Helsing-Groude Amplifier outside the school."

Glynda was silent as she concerned the implications of such a device. "How far will it reach?" She asked quietly. Oobleck shifted uncomfortably, "I'll be unable to tell unless I see the machine, but based on Mister Ren's and Miss Valkyrie's distance into the forest and our ability to hear the signal… I would estimate at least a ten-mile radius." Glynda was silent for a short time, "Please fetch Peter for me Bartholomew. Then teams RWBY and JNPR." She found the orders easy to give out, "Not Ms. Valkyrie, I fear that she may wish to stay with Mister Ren for some time." Oobleck nodded and moved to find the larger professor. "Oh Ozpin, why of all days is it today that you must be alone?" Glynda asked the wall.

* * *

**Yang:**

Yang listened intently as Professor Goodwitch explained the situation to the five hunters and huntresses. According to Professor Oobleck, a Helsing-Groude Amplifier emitted a specific frequency to a large surrounding area. The frequency was known to send nearby creatures of Grimm into a Blood Rage, enhancing their ability to fight at the cost of a weakened state after combat. "The machines were used briefly during the Faunus Rights Revolution but were illegalized almost immediately following the war's conclusion after the extent of their effects were realized." Oobleck explained. "We believe that Miss Fall is in possession one such device." Glynda concluded, "It appears that this caused the Grimm to fight effectively enough to injure Mr Ren." The words still stung, most harshly for Yang. She was the only person besides Nora who'd seen the damage Ren had taken. It was Pyrrha who first broke the silence, "So what would you have us do?" The Amazonian asked. The five waited for their teachers orders, trying their hardest to block out the deafening silence around them. "It seems that the machine is offline once more." She said slowly, "I would like you two," She indicated towards Ruby and Weiss, "To enter the forest and disable it permanently." She turned to face Jaune, Pyrrha, and Yang. "You three I wish to stay here for now, I fear this may only be the first phase of her plan." The group nodded and left.

Ruby and Weiss grabbed two small bags and left for the Emerald Forest immediately, leaving Jaune, Pyrrha, and Yang alone to worry about Ren. "How bad was he?" Jaune asked concerned for his friend, "We couldn't get much out of Nora and the doctors..." Yang shook her head slowly, "Bad. And I mean real bad." She said sadly, "He was alive but wasn't conscious when I got there." Jaune felt a chill run down his spine as Yang spoke but Pyrrha spoke instead, "And Nora…?" Yang shook her head, "Her best friend is in a coma, how would you react?" A sudden rage formed inside her, "HOW DID YOU REACT?!" Pyrrha held her ground before the fiery blonde. Her… 'fragile' state of mind after the dance was not lost on her, nor would she ever forget how Yang had saved her. "I know," She said calmly, "I was an idiot I know. But we need to focus on Nora now." Yang took a moment to calm herself. "You're right," Yang said sadly before continuing. She took a deep breath, "Nora's fine, physically anyway." A moment of silence, "But her state of mind… The boy she loves is in a coma now and she can't do anything about it." Despite her trying to hide it, Nora's feelings for the pink haired boy were rather obvious to her friends. The trio silently debated what to do before Jaune spoke, "We'll watch Nora for now." Yang nodded and began to run off, looking for anything to signal an oncoming attack.

As she left, Jaune and Pyrrha began to walk back towards the infirmary. As they walked, Jaune had something on his mind, "What did she mean, How did you react?" The Amazonian had never told Jaune about her first near death experience this year, "It's nothing." She said, dismissing the blonde's questions. _"Better that he not worry." _She decided, checking the time, 12:52 P.M. _"Today's gonna be a long day." _She didn't know just how true her statement was.

* * *

**Ruby:**

"How are we supposed to find this thing?" Ruby thought aloud to her partner's annoyance. "We just have to keep looking," Weiss said, "It's bound to be around here somewhere." Ruby sighed and continued to climb trees, hoping to spot it from higher ground. No such luck and, after 20 minutes of searching, Ruby was losing some hope. "Do you think Ren's okay?" She asked suddenly to the heiress. Weiss continued to press forward but spoke calmly, "I hope so..." She said. It was the inability for her to make a decision that scared Ruby, "So do I." She said quietly, pulling out her scroll, 12:59, they had a lot of ground to cover and not much time to do so. The Emerald Forest became a scary place at night, "I think we should split up," Ruby said, "I'll start heading this way and you'll head SoutAHH!" Ruby screamed, covering her damaged ears. The high-pitched whine from earlier had returned, momentarily deafening the Crimson Huntress.

"Oh thank dust." She said as her ears adjusted and volume lowered. "It must be nearby, there's no way it would be that loud otherwise." Weiss said, apparently ignoring her leader's momentary distraction by the noise. Ruby nodded in agreement but before the two could renew their search, they felt the ground vibrate as they turned to see a Death-Stalker approaching them. Ruby turned to Weiss and nodded. She loaded Crescent Rose as Weiss readied her Dust and the duo charged.

Unlike Ren and Nora, the duo was prepared for the Grimm's enhanced attacks. They were also blessed by Ruby's grudge against this particular species of Grimm following their encounter during initiation. Weiss and Ruby silently coordinated their attacks, with Weiss first trapping the creature in a sheet of ice. As Weiss did this, Ruby was able to move closer and fire her weapon into the beast's skull. As the beast moved to attack with its stinger, Weiss moved closer and burnt the great beast with a long slash across its thorax. Ruby took this moment of confusion to slash at the beast's stinger, weakening it further. Unfortunately, the Grimm had managed to free one of its claws and smacked Ruby back when she charged a second time.

Ruby recovered quickly, but marveled at the beast's unnatural power. _"No wonder Ren got hurt," _Ruby thought, _"That thing is powerful." _Ruby and Weiss retreated back to each other and faced the almost-freed creature. They charged with Weiss laying swipe after swipe into the beast as Ruby fired her gravity rounds into the newly exposed flesh of the monster. The entire encounter took less than 5 minutes and Weiss and Ruby moved away from the large carcass carefully. Though they were efficient, the Death Stalker had used up a serious amount of Ruby's ammo and Weiss's dust. Ruby continued to marvel at the apparent strength of the Ruby still had her Aura in safe levels, the monster had taken away more than a quarter of it with a single swipe. "We can't risk another fight like that." Weiss said. Ruby agreed and the duo resolved to be more conservative movements and continued their search.

* * *

**Ozpin:**

Ozpin slid back frowning, "You're losing your touch dear brother," Cinder said mockingly, "I was hoping for something of a challenge." Ozpin wiped a forming sweat from his brow and charged wildly at Cinder. She moved quickly, blocking each blow almost effortlessly, "Come now Ozzy," She said forcing the aged teacher back, "Why don't you just give up?" The world slowed to a crawl as Ozpin stood facing his sister. Slowly Ozpin closed his eyes and bowed his head before her. "My my," Cinder said, shocked by Ozpin's willingness to submit, "If it was this easy I would have done this earlier." She approached Ozpin.

She was less than a foot away when Ozpin's eyes snapped open once more, a hardened steel hidden behind the soft brown hues. He swiped his cane with unprecedented speed, connecting with Cinder's right temple and forcing her back. "I will never submit to you." He said darkly, laying strike after strike into his dazed sister. She was forced backwards to the edge of the tower but rather than curse or shout at her injuries, she smiled, "My my, how rude." She taunted, "I suppose I'll have to educate you." A fireball formed in her right palm. Ozpin didn't speak but instead raised his blade to her. "That's more like it." She said excitedly.

* * *

**Yang:**

Yang heard the mechanical whine of the amplifier once more and felt a weight form in her stomach. Though the noise wasn't as loud as in the forest, it still made thinking very difficult. She tried to block out the noise as she moved across the school quickly. _"Where are you…?" _She thought angrily, searching for Professor Goodwitch. She rounded a corner and found herself in the middle of Beacon's courtyard. She stopped almost instantly as she saw something approaching from the horizon.

* * *

**Ozpin:**

Ozpin stared down Cinder, clutching his injured chest. Cinder chuckled lightly, "Age has a way of catching up to you at the worst possible time, Don't you agree?" She said gloating. Despite Ozpin's attack earlier, it was painfully clear who was winning. Ozpin clutched his injured chest and feebly raised his weapon, _"Broken ribs," _He thought angrily, _"At least two. Probably more." _Cinder was about to move to strike again before something in the distance caught her eye. The two turned and saw them. Bullheads, dozens of them, All coming directly towards Beacon. Cinder smiled, "It seems they're early." Cinder said bemused, "Oh well, it'd be a shame to send them away now." She pulled out a scroll and sent a short message. Ozpin weakly faced her as she showed him the message, 'Brimstone'.

Cinder turned Ozpin's head gently back towards the forest, "This is it brother. This is the end." Ozpin's eyes widened as he watched. His world slowed as he watched the bombs fall and the forest erupted into flames. "But…" Ozpin said weakly, "They'll…" Cinder smiled, "Come right towards your precious school," Ozpin fell to his knees, "My students… They can stop them." He said defiantly. Cinder began to pace around him, "Perhaps some would stand a chance, but they've an entire forest coming… And did I mention the Helsing-Grade?" Ozpin's spine chilled as he realized the destruction coming for Beacon. His grip tightened around his cane, "You will not survive this day." Cinder laughed, "Who's going to finish me then, you?" Ozpin raised his cane to strike but Cinder stopped the blade before it connected. *Tut* *Tut* *Tut* "My own brother can't even raise his blade anymore?" She knocked him backwards to the tower's edge, "Pathetic."

Ozpin looked through his cracked glasses at his sister, "All you do is kill and destroy." Ozpin said, staring into her orange eyes, "That is all you will ever bring, Death and Despair." She took his remarks in stride, "I cou…" Ozpin interrupted her, "You are not my sister, you are a monster. A copy, A shadow of her." Cinder moved forward, raising Ozpin by his collar and holding him over the tower's edge. "I am no shadow… I am stronger than you will ever be, _Brother_." Ozpin shook his head, "You may be stronger, but you are not my sister." He saw the rage begin to overtake her, "You are nothing!" He snapped, "Just a monster destined to walk this world alone! To destroy any joy and hope you come across!_" _Cinder's grip tightened, her golden eyes staring down his Brown hues. "You're right," She said smiling now, "And first I'll destroy your lovely little school. I'm afraid we must depart now brother."

Her usual confidence faltered as she pulled him closer, "Goodbye." She said, hardly louder than a whisper. Ozpin felt her grip around his collar slacken and the wind begin to rush against him. Time slowed to a crawl as he fell, _"This is it," _He thought, _"This is how I die." _ He began to plummet closer and closer to the ground but was not afraid, only tired. Tired of the constant fighting, tired of watching his student's die for his mistakes, tired… _"Tired of this cruel world."_ Ozpin closed his eyes and thought one last time of the woman he once knew as his sister, _"I'm sorry Cinder." _He thought, tears falling slowly, _"I'm sorry."_

* * *

**Author's Note: Before you say it, in no way would any amount of Aura save you from a 30+ story drop. Also regarding Ren, I haven't yet decided whether or not he dies. There's your sliver of hope Renora shippers.**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed the story, I implore you to message me with any criticism or praise as you see fit. And I truly hope you enjoyed Part One of the finale.**

**P.S. Wooh, 5,100 Views! I'm amazed that this story has been that popular an i just want to thank you all for your support.**

**-Cardinal67**


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